10 Seconds
by PrettyWilde
Summary: He felt a chill and spun to his left as he heard the echo of footsteps, something was definitely here. The teen felt his heart pounding in his chest as he glimpsed the candle as it's flame disappeared. The shadows around him swirled; the Midnight Man. Edited completely, epilogue up.
1. The Midnight Game

The Midnight Game

"Hurry up Mikado! It's already eleven! We're late," blonde haired, golden eyed Kida Masaomi grinned as he tugged his best friend behind him, practically running down the sidewalk as he wove throughout those partaking in Ikebukuro's nightlife.

Black haired, azure blue eyed Ryuuagmine Mikado took another laboured breath as Masaomi dragged him along; running was definitely not his thing. For some reason, the shy boy had a bad feeling about this. The pair was hurrying to meet up with Kadota Kyouhei, Togusa Saburou, Karisawa Erika and Yumasaki Walker, but Mikado was confused as to why they were meeting the gang so late. "Where are we going again?" he had to ask.

"I already told you man, Erika said she came across something super interesting while she and Walker were looking for some anime online. It's a game or something, and she sounded really excited about it; you know if those two found something interesting that didn't have to do with a manga, it must be pretty cool. Oh hey, I see Saburou's van up ahead," the blonde spoke animatedly, and to Mikado's relief, they slowed their pace to a fast walk.

"A game? Why did we have to meet them at night then? It just seems odd, don't you think, Masaomi?" the blue eyed boy spoke calmly, trying not to let his suspicions reveal themselves in his voice. Nonetheless, Mikado waved politely as Erika bounded excitedly out of the van and towards him and Masaomi with Walker following behind her.

"Hey guys!" Walker greeted them as the otaku approached. "You ready for tonight? It's going to be awesome!"

"Yeah, we found the instructions for this game online, and it sounded so cool! Come on, we already have all the stuff, so we just need to go," Erika grinned from ear to ear and motioned towards the van. "We have to start at exactly midnight, so we don't have any time to waste!"

Her words caught Mikado's attention. Midnight? Stuff? Not to mention where they were going…What kind of game was this, exactly? The entire situation was becoming increasingly peculiar. "Um, Erika, where are we going, exactly? What game is this?"

The Fujoshi giggled as she jumped into the van's third row seat with Walker, then turned to Mikado as he made himself comfortable next to Masaomi, who seemed to not be the least bit bothered by the whole thing. "Don't worry Mikado, I don't even know if it's going to work, but at the very least, we'll have fun. It's called the 'Midnight Game'! Have you heard of it?"

Masaomi turned halfway around in his seat to look at her as Saburou started driving. "Isn't it one of those weird ghost games, like Bloody Mary?"

Walker nodded fervently. "Yeah, but that one's a definite hoax. This one sounds a lot more complex." He paused and looked towards the front seat as he asked, "Did you find a place for us to play, Saburou?"

Saburou turned around and grinned, "Yeah! There's this factory over near Arakawa that's been abandoned and unguarded for a few months. I still can't believe you were so insistent on this; we're just going to run around in the dark, scaring ourselves. Even more unbelievable is that you convinced Kadota to go along with this!" The driver jokingly shoved Kadota's shoulder.

"Yeah, well, you know they wouldn't let it go until we agreed. I hadn't seen them so obsessed with anything since they adapted the Wolf and Spice light novels into a manga," Kadota sighed. He was not exactly looking forward to this; he felt a bit silly in fact. He believed he was too old for sleep-over party games.

Mikado gulped—this definitely _didn't_ sound very fun, running around some abandoned factory. "So…What is the point of this game? What do we have to do?"

"Good thinking! We should go over the rules before we get there so we have time to do everything! So smart, Mikado!" Erika cooed, and proceeded to fish something from her bag. Upon further inspection, it was a folded (and from the look of it, a very abused) piece of paper, which she began reading from, "Okay first off, it is NOT recommended that you play the Midnight Game, and those who choose to participate must do so at their own risk. Things to keep in mind throughout the game are as follows: DO NOT turn on any lights during the game; DO NOT use a flashlight during the game; DO NOT use a lighter or any other substitute for a candle because it will not work; and lastly, DO NOT provoke the Midnight Man during the Midnight Game."

Mikado felt his heart beat in double time. Okay, now this was just becoming insane—he hadn't even heard the official rules to anything yet and he was already starting to get scared. Mikado didn't like to think of himself as a coward, but if he was able to avoid conflict or situations such as the one he was currently in, he did. This game did NOT sound enjoyable. Mikado was about to interject, but Erika began reading again.

"It must be 12:00 AM when you begin the ritual, otherwise it will not work. You need a candle, a wooden door, a drop of your own blood, a piece of paper, a lighter, and salt. If you are playing with more than one person, they will all need their own of all of the listed materials, and will have to perform the steps separately, but the time still applies.

"Step one: Write your first, middle (if you have one), and last name on a piece of paper and put one drop of blood on the paper. Allow it to soak in.

"Step two: Turn off all the lights in the house or place you are playing. Go to the front door or entrance, which must be wooden, and place the paper with your name in front of it. Place the lit candle on top of the paper with your name.

"Step three: Knock on the door 22 times. Note: You must complete the first three steps within a minute, so that the final knock ends while it's still midnight, or it won't work, so be quick.

"Finally, open the door, blow out the candle, and close the door. You have just summoned the Midnight Man and allowed him in!" At that, Erika stopped and giggled, "Sounds so intense right?"

Mikado stared wide eyed as he heard Saburou chuckle from the front seat. How could everyone be so calm about this? Once again, the boy did not believe himself a coward, yet this was far beyond his comfort zone. Perhaps it was because up until last year, he had lived out his entire existence in a small town, growing up with traditions coupled with superstitions, and had yet to shake the mentality. The teen could still remember his mother dutifully avoiding stepping on the cloth edge of their tatami mat so she didn't bring bad luck upon herself. Mikado sighed and glanced over at Masaomi, who sent him an encouraging half smile.

Erika cleared her throat and continued reading from the paper in a dramatic fashion, "Step five: RELIGHT your candle. Now your goal is to avoid the Midnight Man until exactly 3:33 AM. If your candle ever goes out, it is because the Midnight Man is near you. Other ways to tell if the Midnight Man is near you: if you feel a sudden chill; if you hear any whispering; if you see any shadowy figures. If your candle does go out, you must relight it within the next TEN seconds; it is your only protection. If you are unable to relight the candle, you must surround yourself with a circle of salt as a last line of defence. If you are successful in relighting the candle, then you may proceed moving about the building. If you are successful in creating the circle of salt, you must remain within the circle until 3:33 AM. If you are unsuccessful in both of these attempts, the Midnight Man is able to get you. You must continue until 3:33 AM without being attacked by the Midnight Man or being trapped within the circle of salt to win the Midnight Game. The Midnight Man will leave at 3:33 AM and you will be safe. Staying in one spot the entire game will only result in the Midnight Man finding you. It is HIGHLY advised you continue moving throughout the game (with the exception of being in a circle of salt). All rules are to be followed with utmost precision; failure to do so may yield dangerous results. Wow, I bet this is going to be such an adrenaline rush..." Erika concluded thoughtfully.

Mikado now knew his feelings of unease earlier were not unfounded in the least. This sounded dangerous, messing around with the spirit world. "You…really think this is such a good idea?"

Masaomi was the one to pipe up next, "Mikado, it's just one of those kids' games people play to scare themselves. Don't you remember back in grade school we went to Takashi's house with everyone and he convinced us to play Black Cat Scratch and it didn't even work? This is going to be just like that except different rules, you know? Besides I'm too awesome to let some shadow guy dispose of me, or you, for that matter," the cheeky blonde grinned. "So, are we almost there, Saburou?"

The black haired boy felt slightly comforted by his friend's words, but he still couldn't shake the sinking feeling he had. The whole set of rules was _way_ too complicated for 'one of those kids' games'. If his candle did happen to go out, ten seconds certainly didn't seem like long enough to relight it…

Izaya & Mikado

The van lurched to a halt, and Mikado looked out the window on his side to see a large building, at least three stories tall, looming against the light of the half moon. The azure eyed boy flinched slightly as Masaomi clasped a hand on his shoulder and mouthed the phrase 'Don't worry.' Easy for Masaomi to say! How could he _not_ worry? This sinister little 'game' sounded rather questionable. The group piled out of the van and Walker looked around at all of them.

"Everyone has a watch, right?" the smiling boy asked. After seeing them all nod, he handed each person a rather large container of salt, a pen, a lighter, a needle, and a candle, "Alright! My watch says it's 11:56 PM, so we have four minutes to get in there and summon this Midnight guy," Walker laughed, gathering his own supplies and running off for the factory's entrance.

Mikado shivered lightly against the night's chill and zipped up his white and green jacket as he pocketed what he was able to of his supplies. Perhaps he was just overreacting, after all. The teen smiled wanly at the building; he had come to Ikebukuro looking for excitement, hadn't he? Excitement meant breaking out of one's comfort zones, defeating the norm, and ignoring the mundane; this was certainly not mundane! With renewed confidence, he followed Walker towards the factory, the crunching of gravel beneath his shoes sounding deafening compared to the stillness surrounding them. As he approached the door, Walker forced the puny lock to give way and took a butler stance, gesturing everyone inside.

"Okay, we have to be fast so we can all do this. It's 11:59PM—everyone write your full names on here!" The young woman took a blank sheet of paper from her bag and deftly tore it into sections for each person. "And...GO!"

The noise of the furious scribbling of pens filled the ominously dark room, the only light coming through the door and supplied by the moon. Erika and Walker could be heard giggling as they each carefully pricked their fingers and made a dot next to their names. Mikado took his own needle and winced as it pierced his skin; he placed his own small crimson mark next to his name and took out his candle. Once everyone had finished, which took virtually no time at all, they lined up their papers and candles in a path along the still open doorway; each was lit quickly. Mikado jumped when Walker suddenly slammed the door; the older man's smirk could be seen by the candlelight.

"It doesn't say we have to knock separately, so everyone just knock twenty two times. Oh, but we have to hurry, less than thirty seconds left!" Erika squealed—and immediately began knocking on the door; grudgingly, Kadota walked up to the door and began knocking, followed by the rest of the group. Once everyone had completed the twenty two rappings on the door, Erika took the liberty of blowing out each person's candle; Walker reopened the door and laughed as he dramatically closed it once more.

"Welcome Midnight Man," he giggled, and took up his candle as Erika relit them all.

Mikado took his candle as Erika handed it to him and fingered the lighter in his jacket pocket. The teen glanced over to Masaomi and murmured, "Well, here goes…"

The blonde beamed back, glad Mikado was no longer completely scared about the game. Masaomi knew exactly why this kind of thing would scare his friend though—back home, they never would have done anything close to this. This fact alone contributed to the nervous excitement the golden eyed teen was currently experiencing.

"We can't just stay here! He'll get us," Erika tittered in mock fright. "We have to split up for the full effect!"

At her words, Kadota grinned, "If you say so, Erika, but you're the one who hates being by yourself."

The Fujoshi snorted, "Dotachin! Don't be mean! I can handle myself. Besides," she smirked evilly and laughed dramatically, "I won't be by myself; the Midnight Man could be anywhere and everywhere."

Walker grinned, "So~ scary!"

Everyone split ways quickly; Mikado cast a last sidelong glance at Masaomi before heading up a rather noisy set of metal stairs leading to the second floor. Once on the second floor, the teen could see this was where the offices were located, and moonlight streamed through the windows lining the hallway, for which he was grateful. This wasn't so bad...Saburou was right, this was merely a group of people running around in the dark, scaring themselves. And that was what he centred his thoughts on for the next hour; this was just a silly game.

Eventually, as he became comfortable with wandering around, his thoughts drifted to Anri, he almost wished she had come with them; alas, she declined because she had to study. Mikado groaned aloud when he remembered he had school the next day—he was going to be so exhausted, especially if they wouldn't be ending this game until 3:33 AM! The teen stopped to checked his watch; it was only 1:13AM, so still over two hours left. Being in the same class as Anri meant he had the same studying to do...Great...

The blue eyed teen sighed and looked down at his slowly dwindling candle and the lighter he had neglected to put back in his pocket, even as he recalled the salt still tucked away in said pocket. Just because he was at the point that he'd convinced himself he didn't believe in the game, he still didn't want to lose or take a chance of wasting his ten seconds by fumbling the lighter out of his pocket. Satisfied with his current condition, Mikado continued walking around aimlessly—until he noticed a door cracked open on his left; this was odd because all the other offices lining the hallway had not only been shut but locked, and he had tried at least four of them.

Creeping forward, the teen pushed the door open slowly, then held his candle into the office and kept his body in the hallway. Mikado was surprised at how spacious the room was; it was almost twice the size of his, albeit small, three meter by three meter apartment. In the room's centre was a large, ornate desk and a tall, high-end leather swivel chair placed behind it; the rest of the room wasn't visible with the dim lighting provided by the candle. This must have been the president of the factory's office, judging from the quality of the furniture left behind.

Mikado was about to step into the room, if for any reason merely to satisfy his curiosity and give him something to busy his attention for a while, but he stopped when he felt a chill from behind him in the hallway. He felt himself panic for a minute, but took a deep breath and scolded himself for becoming so frightened over nothing. After a quick glance behind him revealed nothing and he made sure his candle was still lit, he proceeded into the large room. Once further inside, he could see many charts and diagrams decorating the walls and an absolute sea of papers covering the floor; the teen shuffled through them and plopped down in the dusty, albeit comfortable, chair. Mikado checked his watch once more out of habit—only thirty minutes had passed since his last glance; he might as well waste some more time.

After sifting through some of the infinite number of papers, the teen concluded this was an old cell phone factory, and they had gone bankrupt, judging from all the negative signs adorning any recorded number he came across. Mikado sighed and leaned back in the chair, being mindful to keep his candle perfectly upright—he was getting so tired. The boy straightened and sighed; the last thing that he needed to do was fall asleep in the centre of a room full of flammables, such as an endless supply of paper, with a lit candle. Just as the teen turned the chair slightly, he felt a chill and started when he saw his candle's flame extinguish.

Even in the dark, his blue eyes widened and he flicked the lighter against the candle's wick—then he heard a small whisper from behind the chair; the speaker's voice deep and gravelly, "Never…Stop."

The teen shakily exhaled. Was he just imagining things? He grew more frightened when he noticed he was able to see his breath; a small bit of fog hovering before his face, illuminated by the moonlight from the hallway windows. Suddenly, the leather swivel chair in which he was seated was violently shoved to the left of the desk, sending the startled boy tumbling into the mass of papers masking the very hard floor beneath, if the landing was anything to judge by. After scrambling to stand and slipping on several papers on his way out of the office, the teen turned once in the safety (or what he thought was safety) of the hallway to look back into the room.

It seemed much darker than it had before, he noticed. Azure eyes squinted and Mikado could have sworn he saw movement. The teen still had his candle in hand and reached into his pocket for the lighter; after fumbling with the cheap thumbwheel, he finally managed to get a flame to take to the candle's wick. Mikado held the candle back toward the doorway of the office, hoping to see whatever it was that shoved him; curiously, he wasn't able to even see the outline of the desk or fallen chair anymore.

Involuntarily, Mikado leaned forward into the room with the candle; it was as though the room had been taken over by the blackness.

He had to stifle a scream as a black mass rushed to the doorway and stumbled backward, but managed to hold his grip on the candle. Though the light of the taper was dim, it would have been enough to illuminate a figure in the doorway. The boy's eyes widened in horror as he saw what appeared to be countless black, gnarled hands grasping the door frame and even stretching across the floor, close to where Mikado now sat in shock.

"Heh...Not going to help…Too slow…" the whispering voice mocked.

Thankfully, Mikado was able to snap himself out of his terror; he quickly retrieved the container of salt and drew a quick, albeit messy, circle around himself. The inky shapes inched closer, but were unable to penetrate the salt ring; the teen couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face in response to the trivial victory. "Doesn't matter how slow I may have been, you can't get to me now…" the boy stated, waiting for the thing to either respond or leave, praying for the latter.

"…Not now…Later…Soon…No…Escape…Took too long…"

A chill ran down Mikado's spine at the broken comments—there was no way he was stepping outside of this circle until 3:33 AM. He checked his watch quickly; he still had the better part of an hour until time was up. What now? His gaze wandered back to the murky mass occupying the door frame...and he had to know. "What…What, exactly, _are_ you?" Mikado couldn't resist asking. He was scared of this thing because it obviously had malicious intentions, yet the fear sent excitement coursing through him, much like when he had first seen Celty. It was a being which was new, extraordinary, and _different_.

"I am…called…many…Demon…Ghost…Spirit…God…Punisher…Shadow…Yes, shadows…is best…I am the darkness…everywhere…Does my answer…satisfy you, Ryuugamine…Mikado…?"

Mikado perked up at being addressed by name; it was unsettling, as was the entity's answer. "I suppose it will have to," the boy answered, not wanting to anger it further.

"…Seem anxious…you…should be…Later…Soon…took…more than…ten seconds…Heh…"

The grip Mikado kept on the dwindling candle tightened at the creature's words. He was startled when he heard the echo of footsteps drawing near, most likely one of the game's other players; quickly, he turned back to the Midnight Man still in the office doorway. "What do you mean later? Why did you repeat it?" Icy blue eyes narrowed as his heart rate sped up; Mikado had a good grasp of what the thing meant, he just did not want to be correct.

"…Not now…Later…Soon…Mikado…" And with that, the swirling darkness receded into the office and the door slammed loudly, the lock turning to bar re-entry to the room.

Mikado forced himself to calm down as he saw the small bobbing light of someone else's candle coming down the hall towards him. As the person neared, he could see it was Walker. "Heh, how long have you been sitting there?" the otaku grinned as he knelt next to the shy teen encircled in the haphazard salt ring.

The teen looked at him in puzzlement for a moment, then realized Walker must not have seen the shadows or heard the Midnight Man. Quickly recovering, he deemed it best to keep this to himself for now; grinning sheepishly he replied, "Not too long. I guess I lost…"

Walker beamed. "Yeah, but don't feel bad. I passed Erika, and she looked like she had been sitting there for at least a couple of hours…Saburou is out, too. It's down to me, Kida, and Kadota." The young man smirked and called down the hallway, "Hey, Midnight Man, you should let me win and go find Kadota and Kida!"

Mikado couldn't help but glance back at the office door—he wondered if Walker would be quite this brave if he knew the Midnight Man was literally _right here_. He was broken out of his staring by the older young man straightening back up.

"Well, I better keep moving. Just watch the time and we'll meet back at the entrance, it's not too much longer until the end," Walker said as he disappeared around a corner up ahead, leaving the brunette alone with his thoughts…and the presence lurking behind that door.


	2. Dangerous Shadows

***Edited by Snow Leopard Pasha***

Dangerous Shadow

After Walker's departure, Mikado stared resolutely at the office door. "I know you're still there," he murmured, "So if you really abide by the rules of this game, then why _aren't _you going after Yumasaki?" The minute the question left the teen's lips, he regretted it; he didn't want the Midnight Man to go attack any of the others.

The office door cracked open, piercing the silence with an ominously loud creak. Mikado held his breath as the shadowy hands slithered out; the monster was bolder now, emerging further into the empty hallway. The inky limbs were much longer than a human's, its joints bony and knotted, causing the arms to bend at unnatural angles. The boy noticed he was able to see the outline of the entity; he involuntarily gasped. The Midnight Man's body, if it could be deemed such, looked…compounded, so Mikado could hardly stand to look at it. There appeared to be numerous conjoined bodies, melded together fully, yet unnaturally, everything was fused together and the inky skin was stretched paper thin over protruding and broken looking bones. No clear features could be seen, as its body was equally as black as the infinite number of hands it possessed.

Mikado could, however, see the vague shape of a ghastly number of heads and tangled torsos, its lower body remained out of sight in the office. Then he realized that each of the heads' jaws were moving as if trying to speak; what would have been the face appeared suffocated by the sickeningly stretched skin. Mikado shuddered; he wasn't able to make out any features of the faces because they were _covered_ by the skin, yet all the movement made by the faces was visible. He watched as each of their unseen eyes rolled around rapidly beneath the layer. He felt as though he might be sick from the sight; but he was unable to look away.

"…Feel guilty?...Rules…I follow…Rules…I am…Rules…I am order…I…Found you first…Mikado…_You_…broke…the rules…Punish…"

The blue eyed teen lost any response that came to him as he watched the Midnight Man drag its grotesque body from the office, pulling its weight with the many distorted arms. He also noticed the hallway growing even darker, the light streaming through the windows being blocked by the swirling shadows. Mikado was startled to find the beast less than a metre from his protective circle—the murky blackness seemed to overtake everything around him. The only thing he was able to see was his small candle, burning pathetically in his hand. Mikado flinched as he saw the limbs and twitching faces tangling around him; his ears were filled with thousands of whispers and croaking laughter. The volume increased until everything was so loud the whispers blurred into static and the laughter seemed to transform into something equivalent to the crashing of ocean waves. What was happening? Was this thing trying to drive him insane? Is that what the Midnight Man meant when it said 'Punish'?

Placing his hands over his ears, the boy quickly found it did nothing to dull the incessant torture the monster was implementing; Mikado closed his eyes—he never should have provoked it, never should have even agreed to play this 'game'. He should have followed his instincts and refused to participate. What was to happen now? Was it going to go after the others in this same fashion?

Suddenly, the multitude of voices dispelled, and Mikado heard a beeping noise. It was his watch signaling him that it was 3:33 AM; cautiously, he reopened his eyes and saw the hallway was back to normal. The boy hadn't realized until this moment, but his breathing was ragged and laboured. He looked up and down the hall, but saw nothing to even signify anyone had been there other than himself. Looking in front of him, he saw the office door was open, the chair once more upright behind the desk. Had…had he just imagined it? There was no way he could have fabricated something so elaborate and vivid…could he?

He found himself shaking at the implications of that last thought. After pulling himself together and returning his breathing to normal, he picked up his candle and walked towards the staircase he had ascended at the game's beginning. Every noise made the teen flinch, every flickering shadow created by the candle set him further on edge.

Eventually, everyone assembled at the factory's entrance; Mikado was last to join the group. They all piled back into the van, Kadota yawning and Saburou smiling as Walker and Masaomi argued jokingly over who 'really' won. Mikado couldn't help but feel unease at the fact that it seemed no one else experienced anything. Saburou admitted he dropped his candle, causing it to go out, and he freaked and drew a circle just to be safe. Erika said her candle had gone out not too long after the beginning of the game and she had 'felt' something was there, so she drew a circle and read one of the manga she smuggled along in her bag.

The teen looked out the backseat window and remained silent as they drove back to the city. He could feel a knot forming in his stomach.

What had the Midnight Man meant by 'Later'? It had repeated it several times, so it had to be important…what was he going to do if…if it came back? The teen felt his heart quicken its pace—he couldn't just sit in a salt circle for the rest of his life.

Another question was pestering him as well: was any of what he experienced even real?

One thing was for certain...He didn't foresee getting much sleep for the time being; he needed to research this Midnight Man. It would be beneficial to have as much information on this thing as possible; luckily, he knew just the person to help him.

Mikado & Izaya

Mikado was right about being exhausted the next day; he had been scolded countless times during school for dozing off. He couldn't help it; he had remained awake for the rest of the night after the game, too fearful of the monster's threat to chance sleeping for even a few hours. In his time awake the previous night, he had done some internet research about the Midnight Man; unfortunately, he had only come across more insight to playing the game and a few players' stories they had posted about their experiences. The teen had been a bit annoyed by the fact that he wasn't able to find out about what the thing actually _was_ or how to get rid of it if needed, but the testimonials were chilling in their similarities to his own experience; this at least temporarily eased his mind about the prospect of imagining the entire ordeal.

He had been in such bad shape during class, in fact, that quiet, melancholic Sonohara Anri asked him softly at lunch, while Masaomi was busy chatting up a girl several feet away, "What's wrong, Mikado?"

He had to blush a bit about her having noticed something was wrong, but at the same time, he knew only an idiot wouldn't have noticed. After a pause, he decided not to drag her in to whatever trouble he'd gotten into, so just said, "Nothing, Sonohara. I just spent most of the night awake, searching for something online."

She was silent for a long time before sighing lightly and saying, "All right."

Thankfully, that was where the conversation ended.

Presently, however, he felt his stomach drop in a sickening fashion as he stood outside a particular apartment door that afternoon. Not that Mikado truly minded this person, but the man still made him exceptionally nervous. Reluctantly, the boy thought it wise to consult a professional to gather information on the Midnight Man, hence why he now stood nervously outside Orihara Izaya's door, attempting to build up the courage to knock.

After timidly rapping upon the wooden surface of the door, Mikado bit his lip. What if he was interrupting one of the informant's meetings with a client? Considering the sort of clientele Izaya kept, such as yakuza members and gang members, that could prove very problematic indeed.

The door to the posh apartment-office swung open to reveal a cold-looking woman the blue eyed teen, to his dismay, recognized as Yagiri Namie. Her mouth twisted with disgust at the Dollars' leader being the person at the door; Namie's disdain for the boy wasn't exactly something she was worried about concealing. "I don't believe you have an appointment," the woman spoke in a controlled tone, but her animosity laced its way through each and every syllable.

Before Mikado had a chance to formulate a coherent response in the face of such an unwelcoming, Izaya's melodic and eerily cheerful tone of mockery could be heard from somewhere inside, "Tch, Namie~, that's no way to speak to a potential client."

The informant ceased spinning around in his desk chair and smirked; as soon as his secretary had responded to the person at the door in such a fashion, Izaya instantly knew who it was. Not that Namie was a naturally warm or welcoming person, but the fact that her usual taciturn and icy manner had been overtaken through her own stoic rage, well, that sort of callousness was reserved for one special teen who messed things up for her awhile back.

Izaya's auburn eyes gleamed viciously as he saw Mikado be shoved in the direction of the desk by the unfriendly secretary, who proceeded to excuse her seething self from the teen's presence. Interesting how Namie could hold fast to such trivial things such as her grudge towards Mikado; even more interesting because the grudge was more held in favor of her humiliation at the teen's hands than for his spoiling any plans she had devised.

Orihara Izaya leaned forward with his elbows resting on the desk as the teen approached a couple more steps on his own. "My, my! What brings you all the way to Shinjuku, Mikado? Seeing as how you ended up at my lovely abode, I suppose you're seeking information."

Mikado looked the man over; he was seated behind the desk, smiling to mask the ruthlessness hiding beneath the happy persona he orchestrated so flawlessly. The teen had heard an absurd number of stories centering on the infamous information broker; honestly, even being in Izaya's presence was daunting, though he had been in it before to favorable ends. He would be lying to himself if he said Izaya had been anything other than useful in their past dealings, hence the reason he'd come to him now.

"Yes, though I'm afraid I may not have enough to afford your rates." Another thing beneficial about Izaya was that he usually offered information to Mikado at a 'discount', though the Dollars' leader wasn't exactly sure if it was only given to him concerning gang issues because of his possible involvement or because Izaya was a Dollars member. At the moment, the distinction mattered greatly.

The eccentric information broker spun his chair slightly to the side so he could look out his beloved picture window. He smiled, but didn't look at the other as he spoke, "Ah, yes! I am well aware of your regretful financial situation. Honestly, it depends what it is you're asking about. Information isn't free, and giving you information on the Dollars benefits me and makes things much more interesting, hence the discount. Though it does make me curious as to what you would consider so imperative, seeing as how there haven't been any noteworthy events which concern you as of late." Upon the last statement, his gaze met the boy's nervous one.

Mikado kept his face as blank as possible, though it was beginning to prove more difficult than usual. "I was wondering if you knew anything about the 'Midnight Man' legend; I need any information you'd be willing to give on it." The teen's stomach was in knots, not truly sure if he wanted to know whatever gruesome details Izaya may or may not know about the creature.

Izaya was torn on how to react; on the one hand, he was intrigued as to why Mikado would be concerning himself with something like this and on the other, he had the urge to laugh hysterically. This was the reason Mikado was a human he felt more of an inclination to observe than others; the boy was a walking contradiction. Mikado was so shy and timid that he could hardly even utter a sentence to his Saika-wielding love interest, yet he commanded the most prominent, and sometimes notorious, gang in all of Ikebukuro. The coward seeking extraordinary excitement and chasing legends; it was utterly hysterical how such conflicting and opposing elements formed a single human.

The man chuckled darkly, "The urban legend? Well, your visit here is just becoming more and more curious. About the payment issue, how about this? I will give you all the information I am able to; in return you tell me why, _exactly_, you are so intent to learn about something such as this. Do we have a deal?"

Mikado raised his eyebrows, trying to see any discrepancy in Izaya's wording. He stifled a yawn and nodded an affirmative. The teen felt a bit of unease as the older male's face momentarily revealed its hidden perniciousness through a dark smirk.

"One moment," Izaya said as he gingerly skipped up the stairs to the landing holding his many bookcases.

Most of the shelves were occupied by files concerning his 'business', but tucked over in the corner was one which housed his personal collection of books. He ran his fingers over many books as he searched for the title he currently sought. Finally, his hand stopped on a worn looking spine with no wording printed on it; this was the one he wanted. Because Izaya had such a good memory, he often never reread books and felt no need to keep them; the personal collection he had acquired consisted of rare books spanning various 'controversial subjects', most revolving around myths and the occult.

Watching as Izaya gracefully descended from the landing with a book in hand and re-seated himself at the desk, the teen saw the book was very old looking; the edges of the pages visible were yellowed with age and in very questionable condition, the cover appeared to be a very thick, grotesque-looking black leather. It seemed…sinister, as though there was something wrong with it; this did nothing to soothe the teen's nerves. The informant thumbed through the pages, unfazed by the disgusting piece of literature, as he intently looked for something.

Finally, he set the book so Mikado could see it. Blue eyes widened as he saw a startling ink rendition of the Midnight Man covering a full page; on the opposing page he saw the book was written in an unfamiliar language. Studying the youth's face at that moment, Izaya saw the blatant flicker of recognition upon seeing the illustration before Mikado had an opportunity to disguise it.

Smirking, Izaya pursued the matter in a conversational manner, "So, you saw him, did you? Kind of a nasty being according to what I've read about it. Did you know the Midnight Game is actually a pagan ritual? It was used originally to summon the entity now known as the 'Midnight Man' so it would punish or kill lawbreakers in their society. Kids who play the game nowadays usually haven't the slightest clue of what they're actually getting themselves into."

With great effort, Mikado tore his eyes from the disturbing illustration to look at the informant. The silence which hung in the spacious office was thick and uncomfortable; the teen shoved the book back towards Izaya, no longer wanting to look at the lurid rendering as he responded quietly, "Yes…I-I did. So, what, exactly, is it? Some kind of demon?"

This brought forth the memory of the monster's answer to the exact same question, as Mikado shivered slightly: _'Shadow…Yes, shadows…is best…I am the darkness…everywhere.'_

Lounging in his comfortable chair, Izaya held Mikado's now very troubled eyes. He was unable to quell the giggle that escaped; the boy's situation was just so outlandish. Mikado had to be one of very few humans able to attract such interesting twists in life as this. "Tsk tsk, Mikado! So impatient; I believe you have yet to tell me why you even want to know in the first place. I am being _exceptionally_ generous in this situation, so it only seems polite for you to abide by the rules. Don't you think?" Izaya's smile vanished as he tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly, a nice subtle intimidation to the young gang leader.

Mikado, being naturally quick-witted despite his lack of sleep, picked up the hint instantly. The blue eyed teen felt much more alert after seeing the creature in the book, reminding him it was crucial he tend to whatever he had gotten himself into promptly before something bad happened...even if it meant humoring a madman. He took a seat in the chair placed in front of the desk and gave Izaya a précis of the events the previous night. Mikado watched the auburn eyes glint with something akin to madness when he attempted to describe the Midnight Man as it appeared physically. Once he had concluded his story, he looked to Izaya expectantly; it was hard to read the other male, but the fact that he had agreed to help meant there was definitely more to this situation than he originally thought…not to mention the way his eyes looked in response to his stuttered explanation.

"That's very disquieting," the informant said as he continued to gaze at the teen, who had long broken the eye contact between them. "You should have realised your biggest mistake in all this was the blood. When someone performs a ritual like this, it binds whatever is summoned to the soul of the body the blood originated from. This was done in the punishment rituals so the criminal would be unable to flee or pass themselves off as another; the monster tracks its victims through their scent, you see. Since the game you participated in contained six players, including yourself, there is more than one connexion the Midnight Man has to 'this' world. Well, you _did_ come to Ikebukuro seeking excitement; tell me, is this what you were after, Mikado?"

The inquiry was slightly troubling; though it would most likely be interpreted as mocking or spiteful, Mikado did not take it in such a negative light. The tone Izaya used was sombre and his expression serious, it was very out of character from what the teen had experienced in their past interactions. Mikado tore himself away from his musings and timidly voiced the new thought that pervaded his mind, "Is there a way to break the connexions between the players and the Midnight Man?"

"You can burn the paper which has the blood soaked into it, but you would have to burn each player's and I'm guessing that everything was most likely left in the factory after the game. It's not a very reliable method, either, because it already has all of your names and blood; it's tracking you. The Midnight Man is something completely in its own category; it's not a spirit or a demon. In this context particularly," Izaya gestured to the black leather-bound abomination sitting in front of him, "It is identified as something worshiped like a god or an idol, but it is specifically mentioned it's not; the creature is analogous to something of a 'soul stealer'. The Midnight Man is described as a predatory being existing to keep order within the masses. The book goes on to say the reason its appearance is so compounded is because it _hosts_ all the souls it has stolen in its own body to prevent them from passing on at all, be it peaceful or even if they were damned anyway. The voices you heard were most likely theirs, the laughter I would presume to be the creature's own."

His heart thumped against his ribs, he felt nauseated; there was no way to escape this? The Midnight Man was going to _hunt_ them and steal their souls? This couldn't be happening! "But then, how did other people survive the game? No one else who played even saw him?"

"From what you've said, maybe it's singling you out because you took too long to relight your candle. To think ten seconds wasted cost you your possible afterlife," the informant mused with a small smile. "I think it's safe to say that it won't be pursuing anyone else, at least not right away. I can look into this further, but for now, I guess you should go stock up on salt."

Mikado scowled subconsciously; not that the visit wasn't helpful, but Izaya didn't need to take such delight in his misfortune and possible demise. "There's no other way to keep this thing away from me? I thought it was supposed to leave at 3:33 AM the night of the game. How can it get back to 'this' world once it leaves?"

"Perhaps it never really leaves, like people think it does, at 3:33, but rather, maybe it can no longer rightly attack them because it is so fixated on rules and order. Makes sense it's still after you though; you broke the rules, therefore it justifies pursuing you even though the game has ended."

Izaya watched the teen diligently, wondering what the almighty Dollars' leader was planning to do now. The informant couldn't help but be enthralled with the situation; he had heard all sorts of rumors about this creature, but never were the stories centered in Ikebukuro. He chuckled quietly as a new thought crossed his mind. "Say, Mikado, when do you think it will actually come after you? It didn't last night…"

The teen's eyebrows furrowed. "I don't know…Why? How long will it take you to find something about how to get rid of it?" This worried Mikado; the statement implied it may take longer than he wanted, which did not please him—he was already so tired.

"Oh, it shouldn't take too long, I only ask because I'm a bit curious about it. It's probably not the wisest idea, but I honestly want to see this monster for myself," the older male responded with a grin, hiding his own wicked intentions. Izaya was the conductor, or at least the catalyst, of most of the chaos present in the city, yet it was a well-known fact that aside from the occasional parkour brawl with Shizuo, he usually stayed away from all the destruction he caused.

Izaya giggled. It didn't seem _too_ risky for him to handle; he hadn't played the game, the Midnight Man didn't have his name or his blood, and he definitely couldn't pass up such a tantalising opportunity. Even if things went awry with the monster, well, he could always just use Mikado to distract the creature; it was after the teen, anyway. Perfect.

In Mikado's mind, this definitely confirmed it; Izaya had to be insane to want to see the Midnight Man in person...The teen gulped as he realised the informant was going to use him as _bait_! For no reason other than to satisfy his warped curiosity! "I-I don't think that's such a good idea…Even with the barrier of salt, it's still dangerous. No, no way." The teen stood. "I really need the information from you, but I'm not agreeing to that."

The man sighed and leaned back. How boring. It didn't really matter what Mikado said, though, since the older male's mind had been made up. "You know, if you told this to most people, they would think you were crazy; I, being the nice person I am, give you the benefit of the doubt, and you won't even indulge my curiosity a bit? Besides, it's going to come after you at some point. If I just so happen to be around when it shows up, there's really nothing you can do about it." The informant spun around in his chair a few times in a sort of victory; he knew he would get what he wanted.

Hedonistic as Izaya was, Mikado knew he was correct. "Why do you even want to see the Midnight Man?"

"For the same reason you wanted to talk to it and ask it questions. It's something new and exciting. You can deny it if you want, but I already know the truth; I know how you want to escape the normality and monotony associated with most humans. This Midnight Man is just as exciting, if not even more so, than all the insanity that is Ikebukuro." With something as close to a 'genuine' smile as one could associate with Orihara Izaya, the informant gazed back at the boy; just from the stoic expression on the teen's face, a nerve was obviously struck by the statement.

_Capricious_ seemed to be a good word to associate with Mikado; not the sense of unpredictability or impulsiveness one might associate with someone like that protozoan-brained brute. Mikado was capricious in the sense of the word meaning that he was _changeable_, and with it, controlled unpredictability seemed to follow. He was a person who could actually hold his own when challenged, but it seemed as though without the challenge, the kid just faded back into the shy boy who was scared of his own shadow.

Mikado, for some reason, suddenly felt far too vulnerable to meet the piercing gaze of the other. He hated that Izaya could read him like a book; yet despite his discomfort, he continued to hold the auburn stare. As loath as the teen was to admit it, he had always felt an odd sort of affinity with the possibly insane man; both lived with a complete façade, more or less, and both craved anything _extra_ordinary or unusual. The difference between them being how Mikado considered himself to have loyalties in people, not merely the twisted, sick 'love' for the human race that was proclaimed by the information broker. Before he had a chance to respond or attempt to dispute the previous statement, Izaya spoke again.

"I have clients arriving soon. I'll contact you when I have some more information on your little problem. See you soon, Mikado," Izaya chuckled as he watched the boy nod and head for the door. "If I had my guess, I would say it might drop by after midnight."

And Izaya planned to see it, see what such a being was capable of, see what _Mikado_ was capable of…How far would the kid be willing to go to save his 'soul'?

Perhaps this was the challenge the boy needed.

*** In address to the absence of honorifics; I know they should be there between Izaya and Mikado, but I do everything on my 'smart phone' and my autocorrect is a pain and recognises the names ****_without_**** them not ****_with_**** them (strange I know). So, I am leaving them off merely to keep up speed…Very inconvenient, sorry for those bothered by this, but I refuse to turn it off to write and have to turn it back on to text.**


	3. Attack

***Edited by Snow Leopard Pasha***

Attack

Izaya skipped down the darkened street, earning the usual stares from passers-by; not that it mattered to him. The informant had all but shoved his last client out the door in order to make it over to Ikebukuro in time. He stopped for a moment outside the rundown apartment building in which Mikado resided, then checked his phone and saw it was still 15 minutes to midnight. The eccentric man gracefully and quietly ascended the rickety staircase, noting that the railing on either side had fallen off since the last time he had been here. There was no light coming through the visible window, nor any from under the door, making Izaya smirk. It was rather advantageous for Mikado that he had decided to come tonight; the boy was most likely asleep, judging from how exhausted he had been in the afternoon.

After easily picking the weak lock, Izaya let himself into the small abode and was greeted with the sight of the boy asleep in front of his laptop. Stifling the laughter he wanted to release at the scene, the informant glanced around the rest of the dark place. Mikado had taken his advice; upon the counter sat four economy sized containers of salt. The older male's phone now read 11:55 PM; he very unceremoniously dropped one of the huge canisters of salt, laughing as Mikado shot upright.

"Oops, how clumsy. This isn't really going to be very much help to you if you're asleep."

The teen tried in vain to return his heart rate to normal; Mikado grimaced at the salt now spread across his floor due to its fall. "What are you doing here?" Of course he knew, but when one awakens to find an unwanted guest in their house, it is a reflexive question. Now wide awake, the boy glanced down at his watch, and stared. How could he have slept so long?!

Izaya observed the boy for a moment, then grabbed one of the undamaged canisters and proceeded to turn it upside down. Walking counter clockwise around Mikado, Izaya completed a cozy circle; any minute now, that _thing_ would show up.

"I know you just woke up, but your mind isn't that slow, Mikado. I told you I wanted to see the Midnight Man, and I am here because I fully intend on doing just that. Besides, if I hadn't shown up, it would have taken your _innocent_ little soul from you in your sleep, ne~?" The informant admired his handiwork, then carelessly tossed the empty package elsewhere in the undersized room and sat down Indian style next to Mikado inside the circle.

Mikado couldn't help but shy away from Izaya in such an intimate proximity; why did the informant have to sit _so_ close to him? The boy blushed upon seeing mere centimeters separating them; the older male seemed to not notice the lack of space between their bodies.

In an attempt to subdue this newfound anxiousness, Mikado reluctantly spoke, "I…" Immediately after he began, he wished he hadn't; his voice drew those intimidating auburn eyes right to him, and due to the small space between them, Izaya's gaze seemed almost overwhelming. "Thanks, f-for waking me up, but you really shouldn't be here. The circle wasn't exactly much help last time…"

The only light in the cramped apartment came from the ignored laptop; the informant grinned when he saw the blush develop on the boy's face. Well, this was proving to be quite fun, and the Midnight Man hadn't even arrived yet! Deciding to mess with the kid further, Izaya leaned forward a bit and smiled as Mikado leaned away instinctively, though with the circle's small size, he wasn't able to lean very far. Their faces were exceptionally close now.

"Well, all the more reason to not leave you here to deal with him alone," he giggled as Mikado's face darkened a bit more. The kid was probably too nervous to even focus on what he was saying. Izaya leaned back and watched the teen release the breath he'd been holding. "It's a win, win. My curiosity gets satisfied and you have help and a bit of moral support—"

Izaya was going to continue speaking, but he noticed the laptop screen flicker. Tilting his head, he watched the screen blink on and off before eventually fizzling to blankness, leaving the pair in the now-pitch black room.

"Heh, guess we aren't alone anymore," the older male commented.

"I can't see anything," the teen mumbled, fidgeting in anticipation.

Mikado shivered; it was the same sudden coldness that had occurred in the factory office, and the darkness was suffocating. When he thought back to the horrid appearance of the monster, he wasn't really sure if he wanted to see anything; the idea that the Midnight Man could be right next to him and him not be able to see it seemed worse, though. Mikado froze completely, even held his breath; he heard it—the ocean of mangled whispers swept through the room.

Soon, all the voices rose in pitch, blurring into the static much like last time; even louder than all the whispers was the laughter of the creature. Its 'voice' sounded like many voices combined and was deep enough to be felt vibrating through the floor. Everything was so loud Mikado wished it would just _stop_ or that at least he could see something. He felt a slight tug on his arm and inwardly screamed; the Midnight Man wasn't supposed to be able to _touch_ him!

Then, a small light appeared before him, and after blinking to adjust to the illumination, the teen realized Izaya had a lighter in his hand. Much to his relief, he also realized it was the informant who was holding his shaking arm. Cautiously, Mikado looked around and saw the disgusting faces coated by the thin, ink-colored skin were surrounding them; they were just as grotesque as last time, even in the dim lighting. They were so close, probably just a millimetre outside the salt; the boy squeezed his eyes shut, but the image was still burned into his mind, replaying itself repeatedly inside his closed eyes. The deformed faces' jaws opening and closing rapidly, unable to make their words coherent among the swarm of static, their eyes rolling around under the endless skin...What was different this time, though, was that the infinite number of arms weren't clawing across the floor, they were clawing, _shredding_, into its own skin and digging in between the protruding bones with a sickening squelching sound.

Feeling himself shaking, Mikado wanted to say something, to shout at it to stop; he felt nauseated and whimpered when the Midnight Man's laughter became ever louder. Then he felt himself being pulled again; Izaya was pulling him away from the edge of the circle, bringing them closer, yet the teen didn't complain—he welcomed this bit of comfort.

Izaya, on the other hand, looked upon the creature with fascination. It was absolutely striking, not in the sense of beauty, but in the fact that it stirred boundless emotions within a person, himself included. Fear, admiration, excitement, joy, madness; everything flooded through him, making him almost shiver in anticipation of, well, anything at all. Mikado's description truly did the Midnight Man no justice; it wasn't really just the gruesome appearance which was so captivating, the entity's entire presence was just so utterly commanding! The entire atmosphere felt as though every single atom in the cold surrounding air was electrified; Izaya couldn't really help but giggle at the whole situation. It was more absurd than Celty biking around the city, hoping to find her head (HA! The Dullahan had been looking for it for twenty years and he was able to stumble upon it with such little effort it was comical).

The teen cracked one eye open to look up at the informant, and he was slightly disturbed by the sight he was greeted with. Izaya wasn't even looking at him; he was gazing at the monster, his eyes sparkling with absolute wonderment, perhaps even something closer to veneration. Mikado's blue eyes widened when he saw Izaya's face break into a smile which did nothing to hide the lunacy lurking behind his happy persona.

"…Not alone…this time…Does…not matter, Mikado…Who are…you?...Wicked Soul…"

The informant tilted his head and examined the hideous face which was closest to him, guessing this was as close to eye contact as he would be able to achieve with such a deformed being. "Tsk, wicked soul? That's rather harsh, don't you think? Besides, unlike my acquaintance, I am not so foolish as to divulge my name to something of your—" He paused for emphasis as he leaned closer to the thing, being mindful to remain inside of the circle, "…disposition."

With a smirk, Izaya sat back on his heels and tried to predict how the Midnight Man was going to respond to this disrespect and obvious ploy at provocation. It wasn't all too different from the way in which he dealt with that blonde protozoan, Shizu-chan; since he wasn't very familiar with this thing, he would just have to treat it as something unpredictable, as much as it annoyed him to do so.

"…Wicked…Roguish…Acerbic…Your soul…marred into something…ugly and irreversibly…altered…Death is not even befitting…to something so…unsightly and impure…It's because of this…that which you deem…_Yours_…will never love you back…"

The riposte left the informant a bit gobsmacked, though he did not convey such thoughts outwardly. The creature was rather intuitive if it was aware of his deep, deific love for _his_ humans; Izaya chalked the Midnight Man's insight to the fact that his passion for people was most likely ingrained upon his very soul because it was what he held above all other ideals. It wasn't a big surprise the monster would be perspicacious of certain aspects of the human soul. Therefore, through his reasoning, he masked his shock rather quickly with a flashing smile.

"As highly as you hold yourself, you are merely a thief of souls; not psychic. My humans _will_ love me back; it's just taking a bit more time for me to prove myself to them. And why would they want a god unworthy of their love? No need to fret though, I have no doubts whatsoever about attaining divinity." The informant stressed the last word faintly, merely to spite the creature; it would never be a god.

In a way, the Midnight Man angered him; he felt it was encroaching on his territory, messing with his humans like that. His auburn eyes narrowed slightly, but it was the only indication of the inner aggravation now threading itself through his thoughts.

Mikado could only watch the scene playing out before him; it was surreal to say the least. Izaya obviously wasn't frightened of the Midnight Man, but the informant was certainly acting different than he had when addressing the teen. The older male was more aggressive, even if it was as subtle as emphasizing a word or phrasing something in a certain way in his seemingly carefree, sing-song tone of voice. Mikado winced as the swirl of whispers picked up in volume again. They sounded as though they were moving, the decibels fluctuating to seem far away, then the very next second, sounding as though they were right next to his ear. Subconsciously, he leaned in closer to Izaya; everything was becoming so overwhelming, the teen was beginning to feel dizzy.

Izaya looked down at the boy; he had been so fascinated with the bothersome fiend he had almost forgotten about the young gang leader now clinging to his side. It was easy to see how this would drive a person insane—it was hardly bearable. The stolen souls had ceased whispering and were now proceeding to plead and scream as loud as they were able, each trying to attract the two humans' attention to their voice specifically, and having no success.

Cringing slightly as he heard a particular face to his right begin wailing and choking into sobs as one of the hands violently clawed the skin covering its eyes, Izaya decided enough was enough. The informant held the lighter a bit lower, as he had no desire to witness such gore; he scanned the ground until he finally saw what he sought. A small mound of salt scattered within the ring forming the barrier, the salt he had spilled earlier. He smirked, and with his free hand grabbed a substantial amount of it, aiming and throwing it towards that bothersome, now-maimed face.

Both Izaya and Mikado looked on with wide eyes as the creature writhed upon the salt's contact with its thin hide; it didn't bleed or burn, but its skin reacted adversely. The inky black layer proceeded to bubble and fester sickeningly as the Midnight Man shrank back, and the pair could _hear_ the fizzing noise emanating from the sordid wound. Then, the entity hissed and screamed, carrying on louder and more vehemently than before; it looked utterly visceral. The Midnight Man's many compounded body parts began flailing and spasming, each moving in a different direction; because the creature was surrounding the two, this gave the appearance one would equate with standing in the eye of a hurricane, destruction and devastation whirling around them, yet completely calm where they were seated.

Mikado vaguely realized he was basically pressed right against the informant, his face buried against the signature fur-lined jacket. His head was swimming and everything around him was spinning violently, not just the thrashing monster; the teen wasn't as bothered by the voices now because every sound was muffled as though he was underwater. He was losing consciousness. Mikado tried to keep his eyes open, but the swirling monster and the spots appearing in his blurring vision were making such a feat quite difficult. Why was this affecting him so severely?

The man brought his attention back to the teen who was now leaning heavily against him. Mikado didn't look very well; he was exceptionally pale and his eyes were completely unfocused. A skittering across the cheap flooring jarred his gaze back towards the other occupant of the room. The informant watched closely as the creature started to disappear within a mass of its own swirling shadows. Once it was gone, the silence which clung to the room seemed strange after all the noise that had just been occurring; in a way, it was more deafening than all the voices.

Izaya released a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding, then turned back to the traumatized boy. "Mikado." The older black haired man paused for a moment, then felt Mikado's grip tighten harshly on his arm. "Can you hear me?"

The blue eyes were now closed, so apparently not. Izaya sighed, suddenly feeling a bit drained from the experience, though—or maybe _because_—it had surpassed his expectations for such an encounter, at least in terms of the Midnight Man and its reactions. He couldn't help but feeling as though the way Mikado had performed this evening was lacking; so much for challenging him, but from looks of the way tonight had ended, the Midnight Man would definitely return.

The Dollars' leader was out cold, so he had to wonder why Mikado had passed out like that. Certainly the entire ordeal was a bit startling, though this was something which should have intrigued the teen, and which normally would have. With a sigh, the information broker attempted to stand and disentangle himself from the unconscious youth to no avail.

Who knew the kid had such a good grip?

Izaya & Mikado

Mikado groaned as he turned over, his sleepy eyes meeting with the annoyingly bright light of mid-morning sun streaming through his apartment windows. Fully prepared to go back to sleep, the teen tried to pull his covers around him, only to realize he wasn't underneath any blankets. Upon recalling the previous night, his blue eyes opened wide and he sat straight up; he noticed he had been wrapped up in a jacket. His heart sped up and he blushed as he recognized it as _Izaya's_ jacket.

Why did he have this? The informant wouldn't really leave without it, would he? Mikado couldn't recall ever seeing the older male outside without it, no matter what the weather was like. Deciding to ignore the article of clothing for the time being, the boy noticed a note folded and laying on his laptop. Mikado warily unfolded the piece of paper to see the elegant handwriting; his face grew red all over again as he read the ostensibly harmless note:

_Mikado,_

_Last night was so fun, your Midnight Man certainly seems like it is going to be quite the challenge. I left to go collect your information; the creature will be back tonight, especially after that nasty injury it received from the salt. It shouldn't come after you during the day, but I'd advise you to be on your toes, because from what I know about it, the Midnight Man is more than capable of doing so. If anything strange starts happening, contact me; if not, I'll let you know when I have something of use in getting rid of the thing._

_Also, if you're wondering about the jacket, you wouldn't let go; such a strong grip for someone as small as yourself. I want it back!_

_Orihara Izaya_

Mikado cringed slightly after reading the neat script a second time; how embarrassing, clinging and hanging all over the older male as though…The blue eyed teen collected himself before completing the thought. A glance at his watch let him know he had already slept through a few of his classes; it was hardly worth showing up for the few hours which remained. Mikado still felt too tense to chance sleeping due to Izaya's note, so he booted up his laptop and logged in to his usual chat room.

As expected, the chat was desolate in the middle of a weekday. Another thought crossed his mind; Mikado took out his phone and messaged Celty to meet him when she had time away from her courier job. If anyone other than Izaya would be able to shed further light on this situation, it would be the Dullahan. Plus, Celty would be most likely to believe him, considering she herself was something of a 'myth'. Before he even had a chance to put his phone away, the faerie replied, saying she would meet him at West Gate Park (Nishiguchi). With a yawn, Mikado stretched and exited his home.

His pace was rather sluggish; he simply could not force himself to walk any faster due to being so exhausted. As Mikado continued ambling towards the park, his thoughts drifted back to the informant unwillingly; why did he keep thinking about that man? The azure eyed teen released a quiet breath of frustration in response to his strange feelings.

As he was passing by a nearby back road, the chilling whispers floated towards him, very faint, but present nonetheless…Mikado stood a moment longer, listening to them, and at one point, he felt a cold breath down his neck. He couldn't help himself; he bolted in the direction of the park. As he was running, the teen tried in vain to calm himself by reasoning that he was suffering from lack of sleep…but then what about Izaya's note? The informant had said it was able to get to him during the daytime…

The teen mentally berated himself as he felt his body slowing down; it was times such as this that Mikado wished he was a better runner, as he had terrible stamina. He could see the park just a little ways ahead, but his lungs were burning painfully and the muscles in his legs were straining terribly at this point. Celty; surely the Dullahan would be able to do something if the Midnight Man had grown so bold as to attack him in the middle of the street in broad daylight.

The boy slowed to a jog as he gasped trying desperately to catch his breath; he had arrived at the park. As he slowed down more, he still heard the faint echo of the voices somewhere behind him; he stopped completely and looked down the street where he had been running, but he could see no signs of anything. That in itself was very odd; despite it being early afternoon, Ikebukuro's streets were usually teeming with people. Instead, the streets were desolate right now, to the point where not even any traffic was passing by. The teen shivered as the voices continued somewhere unseen.

****Alright, I feel the need to address this early on in the story; I try and write as in character as I possibly can, Izaya is a very complex character to write (as is Mikado, but I forewarned everyone that I am new to writing him). Everyone who writes DRRR fics that include him, have different interpretations of his character; this is my personal interpretation of him for the story's sake. I try and hold his 'ideals' and actions true but my version is a bit more fanatical and on the darker side of things, please just keep this is mind when reading; if this is something that bothers you, I apologise. Aside from that, I know his dialogue is off as opposed to how he really speaks and I'm sorry, I have tried and have yet to break myself of slipping into the way I, personally, speak; so I haven't even tried to fix Izaya's dialogue, though I did on Mikado's (a bit).Whew, that was a long disclaimer!**


	4. The Netherworld

***Dreams are in **_italics_  
><strong>*Celty's dialogue will be in brackets, [like so]<br>**

The Netherworld

Mikado flinched severely when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and spun around, wide-eyed, expecting to be faced with the sea of deformity which was the Midnight Man's body; to his utmost relief, it was Celty, instead. He watched the Dullahan's helmet tilt to the side in question of his strange behaviour.

"Sorry, Celty," Mikado mumbled.

[Mikado, are you okay? You seem really jumpy today…And it's odd for you to not be in school at this time of day.] Celty typed on her PDA, worried about the teen; Mikado usually didn't contact her so suddenly without reason, so she knew something had to have happened with the young gang leader.

"I…" Mikado paused and took a wary, sidelong glance back down the street. "I am really on edge today. I'm sorry I asked you to meet me on such short notice but I-I needed to ask you about something. Do you know anything about soul stealers?" The blue eyed teen looked back at Celty; he felt almost silly calling it such, but he doubted the headless woman would be familiar with the term 'Midnight Man'.

[I can remember bits and pieces about them, but not everything. Why do you want to know about that?] Now she was quite worried about the boy; soul stealers were not something to be taken lightly, as they were very dangerous, and in some cases, very powerful. What trouble had Mikado gotten into _this_ time…?

Mikado sat down and told Celty what was going on; he knew he could trust her.

The fae wasn't too keen on Izaya's involvement in the situation, but she kept those thoughts quiet for the moment. Once the nervous boy finished catching her up on the events of the past few days, she began typing out what she was able to remember about the alarming creatures. [Soul stealers are also called 'Takers'. There aren't an abundance of Takers, and there never have been, but some are very risky to deal with and others are very weak. The one you're dealing with sounds like one of the more powerful ones, especially if it looked the way you say it did. The more souls a Taker possesses, the more powerful it is; some of the powerful Takers can even have underlings, the weaker Takers, as they flock to power.]

Mikado nodded, since it was more information than he'd had before. He didn't like the sound of that; one Midnight Man was enough to deal with. He waited patiently as Celty typed out another message.

[Takers are able to drift between our world and a sort of Netherworld which exists right alongside the human world; most Takers remain in the other world, but some rogues hunt souls here without restraint. Yours was summoned here, which means it abides the rules for the most part; however, the longer it remains in the human world, the less likely it is to continue being obedient to its own restrictions. Takers become entranced and fixate on certain things very easily—they become obsessive. The power they sense from human souls eventually becomes too tempting, and that is how the rogue Takers emerge.]

The teen looked at the ground thoughtfully...So the longer it stayed there, the more dangerous it would become? "Celty, what is it that they become obsessed with? The person they're hunting?" Mikado hoped his hypothesis wouldn't be correct, but what else would the Midnight be after?

Nervously, Celty tapped a quick reply on her PDA, [Takers are drawn to power, they crave it. More often than not, the Takers become greedy and start taking souls at random or fixating upon certain souls they are _drawn_ to, instead of just their intended victim. Different Takers are attracted to different kinds of souls depending on their nature or the culture they choose to associate with. When Takers go out of control, it makes them more perilous because they grow more powerful with every soul they consume and are more difficult to avoid.] She didn't let the teen speak before she continued, [I'm sorry, but I don't know of any way to get rid of them…But I'll do anything I can to help you.]

A soul a Taker is _drawn_ to; that thought sent shivers down Mikado's spine, despite the warm weather. The warm breeze blew rather harshly; among the rush of air, Mikado could hear the voices and the deep demonic hiss of the Midnight Man laughing spitefully.

"Did you hear that?"

[Hear what?] The Dullahan focused for a moment, letting her senses reach out with the tendrils of black smoke seeping from under her yellow helmet; she couldn't hear anything.

Mikado frowned; maybe it was just his frazzled nerves in combination with his sleep deprivation and overactive imagination…

Regardless, he was more than a bit relieved when Celty had been kind enough to give him a ride back to his apartment; he really didn't want to have to run again if he heard any more voices. Once inside, the teen sent a short message to Izaya to look into 'Takers', since maybe that would be more helpful on the search for information, though he did not mention to the eccentric man he had been hearing voices all day.

As his thoughts darted back to the information broker, Mikado felt the same strange emotions as earlier; why did he keep thinking about Izaya? The way he was fixating on the man was almost in the same fashion as he did with Anri…except he _liked_ Anri. He and Izaya had a professional relationship and nothing more…

The blue eyed teen sighed and sat down, picking up the older male's jacket, which he had discarded earlier, as he did. He held it up and looked at it; upon turning it over in his hands, he could see numerous small stitched lines on it where rips and tears had been sewn adroitly. The teen smiled; it seemed very much like the informant to have such a thing despite such cosmetic damages, even though he had more than enough money to replace the entire coat. Mikado continued scrutinizing the piece of outerwear as his musings became deeper; symbolism could be found anywhere.

Izaya kept the coat no matter how damaged, as long as it was able to take more damage and still be of use to him—_exactly how he plays with his humans_. Mikado's mouth turned downward at his last thought; he hated that about Izaya. With a sigh, he walked over to his laptop and sat down with the jacket in his lap, yawning as he pressed the power button. While he was waiting for the device to boot up, he didn't mean to, but the boy fell asleep...

Mikado & Izaya

_He glanced around at his surroundings lazily; he was at West Gate Park. Why was he here again? At night? The teen couldn't recall even walking there and his mind felt clouded and hazy, most likely because he was so exhausted. It was so strange though, as his body felt almost energetic, yet his thoughts were heavy and fragmented._

_The teen's gaze snapped to his right upon hearing a piercing hiss; it sounded like metal colliding harshly with metal and scraping against one another. Mikado couldn't see anything immediately; he realized everything was happening exceptionally slowly, so slowly it was surreal. Two cars on the nearby street were crashing against each other in slow motion; the teen could see every crinkle as it appeared in the vehicle's once immaculate body, see each individual break in the wind-shield as it shattered. Mikado gasped quietly and stood to go near the accident._

What_ was going on?_

_As he headed toward the accident, Mikado observed that while everything was moving slowly around him, he was moving at a normal speed. He stood on the side-walk and watched as one of the drivers exited their car and sluggishly ran to the other car; even their speech was too slow to be coherent. It also sounded incredibly deep, with a quality like a tape running on half speed. Azure eyes blinked multiple times, attempting to make everything speed up as though they were the problem, not the world surrounding the boy. Mikado jumped as he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder; it was Izaya._

_"What's going on?" Mikado whispered as he looked at a bird which was flying at such a gradual pace it appeared completely suspended. The boy was slightly relieved his words sounded normal despite the fact that they felt rather thick on his tongue; why did he feel like this? Was he sick or was this place doing something to him?_

_"Well, what fun would it be if I gave you all the answers right away?" Izaya smirked and turned to walk down the side-walk, away from the car crash._

_Mikado quickly caught up to the informant, glad at least Izaya was acting normal…as normal as possible for such a man. As they walked, the teen noticed an ambulance creep down the street towards the incident. "Izaya, seriously, what is going on? This is getting too weird…" Mikado wanted to continue, but he noticed the older male had stopped and turned around to stare at him; he couldn't help but fidget._

_"You tend to overlook the most obvious things…You know." Izaya stepped closer to the teen, but Mikado stood his ground. Something was incredibly off with this situation…The man spoke again before Mikado had the chance to say anything, "You don't even realize you're…lost."_

_Mikado froze as he finally comprehended how close they were; their faces were centimetres apart and that auburn gaze was almost crushing, especially given the serious expression adorning the older male's face. Mikado was so captivated by the mien of the other he failed to notice the closing distance between their mouths until all he felt was the searing heat between them. Soon after Mikado began to relax into the kiss, the heat and ardour he felt through Izaya's lips became scorching; it burned to the point it almost felt cold._

_The black haired teen began to pull back—and then he heard it, the throng of voices screaming. The noise inundated everything. As his blue eyes opened, he saw a mass of the deformed, revolting looking Takers swarming the side-walk and street; everything was becoming so dark as their shadows overtook everything around him. He couldn't see any part of the city anymore, all he was able to see aside from the creatures was the informant._

_Izaya was standing in front of him, looking as calm as ever; he laughed and began to speak, "How pitiful…I…Even gave you...a clue…Mikado…"_

Izaya & Mikado

The information broker made great use of Mikado's newest clue; he had found a tremendous amount of useful information about the creature, yet he hadn't found anything about getting _rid_ of them. The informant sighed; this was going to be one of those tasks which required a substantial amount of reading between the lines to find an acceptable solution. He decided a meeting with his favourite blue-eyed teen was in order to discuss his findings; Izaya smirked as he stretched and headed toward the door. The man felt a twinge of annoyance upon realizing his jacket was still with Mikado, and had to sigh as he left for Ikebukuro.

Mikado & Izaya

_Mikado's eyes widened; the way 'Izaya' was speaking…it was the Midnight Man!_

_Despite understanding this fact, the teen couldn't help but whisper, "What?" He couldn't begin to fathom everything that was happening._

_It couldn't be real. It just couldn't be!_

_The false Izaya smiled at the teen and leaned forward. "You're…so dim…Mikado…I took…his form because…it seems…to be…_pleasing_...to you…Heh."_

_In spite of the perilous situation which was occurring, Mikado found himself blushing at the Midnight Man's implications. One thought kept looping itself in his mind; _this can't be real, it just can't be possible.

_Then something important occurred to the startled boy._

_He narrowed his eyes and gave the Midnight Man a small smile, "It's a dream; _all _of this is a dream. I remember now, I fell asleep in front of my laptop." Mikado had used this before when he was younger; whenever he had a nightmare, if he came to the conclusion that he was dreaming he always tried to induce a sort of lucid state of dreaming and for the most part it had worked for him._

_The disguised Midnight Man spun around and walked a few paces away from the teen. When he turned back towards Mikado, the intense malice present on his face was enough to shred any confidence the blue eyed boy possessed. "Just as…I…said…you are so…slow…You are…asleep…yet, this is not a dream…Tell me, this…You remember…how the…city…looked when you…first…began this 'dream'…That is…how…your _human _world…appears to _us…_through…the…veil…which separates us…from you…Welcome to…the…_other _realm…Human…"_

_Mikado gasped. The 'other realm'? The Netherworld Celty had mentioned? No, it couldn't be possible. He was asleep; there was no possible way he could have even gotten to another realm, right? As he made his best attempt to calm himself, he decided that, dream or not, he needed to bide his time. Mikado resolved to call the creature's bluff._

_"T-that can't be. How would I even get here, especially unintentionally…?"_

_A devious grin appeared in response to the question, "I…brought you…Mikado…" The creature drifted back towards the boy and roughly grabbed his chin. "You want…a challenge…you want…the extraordinary…you want…anything…except…normalcy…I'm giving you…exactly that…if you…so desire…We enter into this…game…of sorts…between…predator and prey…" Mikado squirmed and shuddered as it brought its mouth to his ear and said, "…I…will hunt…your soul…and…attain…it...Soon…Mine…Punish…"_

_The teen felt a shiver wrack his body; upon that last sentence, the entire illusion broke down and the Midnight Man returned to its fragmented, muddled speech and its deformed, distorted, shadowy 'body', the many faces bulging through the thin skin and screaming for their release._

Izaya & Mikado

The informant jogged up the steps of the ramshackle building, finding his way to the apartment he was now becoming familiar with. Izaya knocked once, then, ignoring all formalities, picked the weak lock and let himself inside. He found the gang leader asleep on the floor; the man tilted his head as he watched Mikado squirm and whimper during his slumber. The kid was having a nightmare.

Izaya was about to wake him when he heard the boy mumble his name softly, in a pleading tone. The older male crouched down next to the snoozing teen, wondering if the boy would reveal anything else about the nightmare plaguing him. After a few moments of nothing aside from tossing and turning, Izaya reached his hand out and shook Mikado's shoulder. He must have been dead to the world because it took a bit more jostling for the boy to actually open his eyes.

As soon as he sat up, Mikado looked around his apartment as though this was the first time he was seeing it. It took a bit longer for relief to sink in that he was in his home and unharmed, not surrounded by all those Takers in the 'other' realm. He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes and took a few deep breaths, then turned to Izaya, who was still kneeling next to him. The moment he saw the other, all the apprehension from his dream resurfaced. However, as soon as Izaya smirked at him, all of the fear from the dream was replaced with a much different anxiousness which made his heart beat quicken and heat rise to his face. The kiss in the dream…

"Bad dream?" Izaya inquired sarcastically upon seeing Mikado's face; what was the Dollars' leader thinking now to cause such intriguing expressions? The information broker stood and continued looking at the rattled teen. "Get up."

Mikado looked at the other questioningly, but stood nonetheless as he watched Izaya walk back towards the door. "Where are we going?"

The man smirked, "Well, since I have been working around the clock for you, I came to the conclusion that you owe me some ootoro for my dedication. Then we can discuss what I've found so far on your Takers, plus I bet you haven't eaten, either." He turned around and saw Mikado slipping his shoes back on, "By the way, I believe you have something to return to me, ne?"

"O-oh, your jacket, it's—" Mikado looked back around the room to try to locate the troublesome thing and trying to control the furious blush spreading across his face. Hadn't he had it with him earlier? The fur-trimed coat was nowhere to be found, but he couldn't exactly tell the informant he had fallen asleep with it and it had now vanished.

Izaya yawned as he watched Mikado search the tiny apartment thoroughly. "Look, don't worry about it, it's fine. We can look for it later. Let's just go get sushi," the man chuckled and headed toward the stairs leading to the street.

Mikado locked his door, then jogged to catch up to the older male; they walked side by side in the direction of Russian Sushi. "I-I'm sorry, I really don't know what happened to your jacket," Mikado mumbled, looking at the concrete as they ambled.

The man turned slightly to look at the boy, flashing a brilliant smile, "Don't worry about it for now. Besides, it's a little harder for Shizu-chan to find me without it; I'm not as noticeable." Izaya glanced at a large crowd gathered ahead of them. Ah, humans were like vultures when it came to tragedy and death.

"Wow, that's a lot of people. What happened there?" the teen at his side asked.

"Two cars got in a head-on collision a couple of hours ago. One of the drivers was killed and the other was completely uninjured, which is why it's caused quite a stir among everyone; they're all claiming it to be a miracle," Izaya said nonchalantly—then he saw Mikado stop and gape at him with wide eyes before sprinting towards the crowd.

No way.

It had been a dream; this was nothing more than coincidence…Nothing more. His breathing was a bit laboured as he slipped through the dense crowd, getting to a spot where he could see the destruction. His head spun; the two cars still mangled together in the middle of the road were the exact ones from the 'dream'. Mikado fought the wave of nausea which overtook him upon seeing the driver from the dream standing off to the side, talking to a police officer.

He felt sick.

The world around him appeared to surge forth to the point of being overwhelming; colours seemed much too vivid, the sun too bright as its rays made everything unbearably warm while they beat down on his skin, the voices of the gossiping crowd around him were deafening, the air felt heavy so he couldn't breathe. Mikado tried to take deep, even breaths, but it simply was not going to happen.

Was he having a panic attack?

Izaya located Mikado easily in the midst of the dense crowd; the teen looked pale and utterly disturbed, like he was about to faint or be sick from shock. It was a singularly interesting reaction for someone who had deliberately sought out the scene; he had to wonder what was wrong with Mikado all of a sudden. The informant sauntered up behind the teen and took his arm, leading him back through the mob still gathered. Mikado followed without resistance in his trance-like state.

Once they were separated from the crowd, Izaya guided the boy to a bench. "Ne, Mikado, what's wrong?" His curiosity was eating away at him; usually the gang leader was so predictable, regardless of the unpredictable moments he'd shown in the past, and despite his nervous nature, this particular reaction seemed very out of character. Izaya pursed his lips and waited as patiently as possible for a response.

"Oh, my God, it wasn't a dream…I…" Mikado mumbled, putting his face in his hands; he wasn't even able to _sleep_ during the day anymore. What could he do now? The boy didn't even want to chance being taken back to the other realm. He was scared; he had never experienced such a deep rooted fear in his entire existence.


	5. Predator and Prey

Predator and Prey

Mikado slowly dropped his shaking hands from his face as he felt hands on his shoulders. The teen looked up and saw the informant's auburn eyes watching him intently, eyebrows raised in question. Those eyes then inundated the teen with new horror; if what Mikado had experienced was indeed real and not just a dream, then…the kiss, that _thing_ pretending to be Izaya…

No. The teen hopped off the bench; that was definitely not something he wanted address, ever. Mikado began to walk quickly towards their destination, as though he could physically distance himself from his own thoughts of fear and disgust.

Izaya sighed and followed after Mikado, mentally detaching himself from his natural curiosity for the moment. "I uncovered quite a bit of information about the Takers, even some about the Midnight Man specifically. Nothing provides any certain way to rid oneself of them, though there's most likely an implied solution somewhere; the translations take a great deal away from my ability to quickly read between the lines. Care to tell me about your little epiphany back there? Perhaps it will provide some sort of insight," Izaya smirked; as Mikado heard the last sentence he slowed his pace and his posture took on a considerably more rigid quality.

Looking at the ground in an introspective manner as the older male fell into step next to him, Mikado said, "I-I had this dream..." The boy paused and glanced over at the informant before continuing, "I was at West Gate Park and everything was in slow motion…Then…Then I saw a car crash and—"

"And it was the one we passed," Izaya finished with a smirk. "Interesting, so you're psychic now?"

The blue eyed teen frowned at the mocking lacing itself through Izaya's tone. The rest of his story was rushed together as he faltered to explain his surreal experience, "No, I saw it in slow motion, but at the same time it was really happening. Then all these Takers showed up and…The Midnight Man was in the dream, impersonating you, and said that-that what I was seeing was through the veil between the worlds; I was in the other realm…"

Izaya giggled slightly. "Tell me, why was he impersonating me when none of the other Takers did anything to disguise themselves?" The informant watched Mikado's face turn the darkest shade of red he had ever seen grace the boy's features.

Mikado was grateful they were now outside Russian Sushi, but Izaya was still waiting for an answer as the boy mentally flailed. Well, what was he supposed to say now? The last thing the teen wanted to do was divulge the…exchange which occurred; he wasn't even sure he believed what the Midnight Man said about his attraction to the older male. In fact, Mikado couldn't even identify what he felt for Izaya; the teen still liked Anri, didn't he?

The blue eyed boy missed any opportunity to provide a believable lie as Izaya smirked and opened the door for the younger. "I suppose I have my answer."

It took every fibre of control Izaya possessed to not break into hysterical laughter at the swell of emotions playing across Mikado's face merely from the provocation that simple statement held; anger, hate, embarrassment, anxiousness, and if one looked very closely at the azure eyes, _longing_. As faint as it was, the desire was present; how could the informant have not paid attention to this sooner?! All the signs were there if Izaya thought back and analysed Mikado's actions in their encounters; how droll, the kid 'liked' him.

After ordering and seating themselves, Izaya sighed at the cold attitude the young Dollars' leader was now giving him. He simply couldn't have that; Mikado was much too fun to play with. Izaya had the upper hand, though, (as he always did), as he still had the information the teen needed. "I figured out why you fainted the night the Midnight Man was in your apartment. It's because when I threw the salt at it, you felt it through the connection it has to your soul. I think that's why it was able to bring you through the veil, but it wasn't able to take your soul from you completely because they can't hunt in their realm; it's forbidden. The other Takers which were there were probably its followers, since they ganged up on you; most Takers don't involve themselves with others' prey."

Mikado pushed his sushi around his plate at he began to think aloud, "...So whatever happens to the Midnight Man...is going to affect me too?" His heart sank as he watched Izaya nod in affirmation.

How were they going to get rid of it?

The pair ate rather slowly; the unsettling subject at hand made the atmosphere rather tense. Mikado glanced back at Izaya, who was now busying himself with his phone. After gathering his thoughts, Mikado finally broke the silence, "You said you found some information about the Midnight Man specifically…"

Izaya smirked at his phone screen as he heard Mikado's tentative prompting. The informant didn't look away from the device in his hand as he spoke to the teen, "Takers possess something similar to the human palate with souls; essentially, souls have a 'taste' to them, which they find desirable or not. Since the Midnight Man was used so often in those punishment rituals, its taste was shaped by that culture. The specific group of pagans who worshipped it were rather iniquitous. They participated in such things as fertility festivals which entailed sacrificing and gutting children, so you can only imagine the treatment law breakers were forced through before facing the Midnight Man. Due to all this, the Midnight Man is attracted to souls possessing such negativity permeating their being. I'm telling you this because the more miserable you let yourself get, the harder it is going to try to pursue you," Izaya concluded as he ate his last piece of ootoro.

How was the teen supposed to _not_ let the situation affect him? It was a genuine possibility he could die and his soul be eaten or whatever the nature of stealing a soul consisted of. Mikado finished the rest of his sushi and the pair left; they languidly walked side by side amidst the evening crowds emerging in Ikebukuro. Mikado noticed the older male finally put his phone away; it was uncharacteristic of Izaya to ignore any of 'his precious humans'. The teen couldn't help but feel he was being ignored.

"Business?" Mikado's tone was quipped slightly as he spoke.

Of course, the change in attitude did not go noticed by the older male. "Tch, I would never ignore you for clients, Mikado. Since my favourite item of clothing is missing, I ordered a new one to replace it until you manage locate it. I just found the same style at a small shop at the edge of Shibuya," Izaya smirked, knowing how the flustered youth would react to both the guilt and obvious flirting.

The boy's face tinged pink at the first statement, "O-Oh, I'm sorry…I honestly don't know what happened to it! I saw it just-just this morning!"

A new idea presented itself to the mischievous man and he resolved to take advantage of Mikado's perturbed state, "Since you've caused me such an inconvenience by losing it, mind telling me what else happened in that little 'dream' of yours? I know you left something out, just by the face you made earlier. I could probably surmise what transpired but there's not as much fun in that, and let's face it, we both know what's going on here."

Mikado stopped walking and glared at Izaya, though the teen knew he should have been expecting something like this. He already felt humiliated enough; he didn't need the information broker trolling him even more when he had yet to sort out these turbulent feelings he was experiencing. It unnerved Mikado to no end to think he felt any kind of infatuation with that sadist. However, he was unable to deny how much he had enjoyed the kiss in the dream when he thought it was actually Izaya.

Izaya chuckled at Mikado's angry expression; the longing which filled those clear blue eyes became entwined with ire and his fists were clenched at his sides as he glared at the informant. The man kept a small smile on his face, but had to look away from the boy to keep himself from laughing and angering Mikado further. He focused his eyes on a trio of businessmen clad in designer suits negotiating for drugs with the sloppy dealer who was no doubt promising the narcotics to be just as high-end as their dress.

After a moment, Izaya spoke in his sing-song tone, "My,my! I didn't mean to offend you so deeply, but you can't really blame me for my curiosity; it's in my nature after all. You—"

Auburn eyes widened involuntarily as the informant felt soft lips on his own, interrupting him; Mikado was kissing him!

The teen knew he was probably burning fifty shades of red right now, but Mikado didn't really care. He had to know if he did like Izaya or not; if he felt something from the kiss, then it confirmed what he was afraid of. Also, he had to put it in Izaya's mind that the man didn't have as much control over him as he wished. The second his lips made contact with the other's, Mikado inwardly gasped, utterly astonished.

The feeling was very different from what he experienced in the dream's false kiss; it wasn't warm exactly, it was _charged_. That was the best way Mikado could think to describe it in the midst of things; completely electric and emotionally stirring to his core, making him hyper-aware of every movement of Izaya's lips. More, it just _felt_ different. Mikado was losing himself in the very sensation of the act when he felt a tongue graze his bottom lip, snapping him back to reality and making him step back from Izaya so quickly he stumbled a bit.

Recovering and averting his eyes, Mikado began walking again, "That's what happened in the dream…"

Izaya smiled; he certainly hadn't expected that, not in the slightest. _This_ was what he liked about Mikado, this capriciousness which revealed itself in the strangest of moments. "Well, what did you gather from that act of boldness?" Izaya watched the introspective teen fall into step beside him once more; the informant would be lying to himself if he said he didn't like the osculation.

After a pause the teen responded, "That I need to think more carefully about this." He didn't mean the remark snidely or sarcastically, but both of them knew the informant's track record in manipulation and Mikado did not want to be added to the list of emotional victims left in Izaya's wake. "Did…Did you...um…" He struggled to ask the question currently in the forefront of his mind, yet was failing to make the words leave his lips.

"Yes…I liked it, if that's what you're trying to ask." Izaya watched as a small, genuine smile spread across the boy's face and felt the slightest twist of happiness in response. Izaya frowned at this small instance of humanity; it was unacceptable. Continuing as though nothing was wrong, Izaya flashed the boy his usual arrogant simper, "Ne, Mikado, I have to go. If you have any problems, feel free to call me. I'd recommend playing it safe, though, and using another salt barrier tonight. I'll see you soon." He turned in the direction of Shinjuku and began walking when he felt a hand gently wrap around his wrist.

Mikado mentally slapped himself when he realized what he was doing; he didn't reach out to be needy, yet there was another concern to still be addressed, "But what about…being dragged through the veil again? To the other realm?"

The question had slipped the older male's mind; _that_ was what he got for getting distracted by Mikado's unpredictability and his own slight emotional oversight. "Hmm…it brought you back when I woke you up, so maybe you could set an alarm to go off every hour, just so you don't end up there too long, if at all. Honestly, though, I don't think it will happen again tonight; it seems as though it would be difficult for the Midnight Man to do that in the first place, let alone twice in a day. Don't worry too much, Mikado."

Izaya felt the boy release his wrist. He didn't like the fear and anxiety he could sense building behind the innocent exterior. The man leaned forward and gently pressed his lips to Mikado's soft ones; it was a brief peck, then the informant proceeded on his way out of Ikebukuro.

Mikado's heart fluttered as he looked after Izaya's retreating figure. When he was no longer able to see the eccentric man, he made his way to his apartment; he actually did feel slightly better about the night ahead.

Mikado & Izaya

Izaya closed the door behind him and kicked off his shoes as he entered his home. Namie had apparently left early, as she was no longer there; the man grinned as he thought about the next day and announcing the pay cut to her for such actions. He ascended the stairs to his room and flopped down on his luxurious bed.

Then, oddly enough, he heard a soft scratching noise.

Lazily, he turned over to look towards the double doors leading to his balcony. And jumped to his feet, heart racing, as he recognized the figure standing just on the other side of the glass.

With only the ingress separating them, there stood the grotesque form of the Midnight Man. Izaya felt as though his heart stopped when he noticed that the many gnarled hands clutched his missing fur-trimed jacket, pulling it in several directions, almost as though they were fighting over it. The voices weren't loud this time; soft, caressing whispers drifted through the glass, and the Midnight Man's own deep tone seemed tame as it laughed heartily. Though his senses told him to flee, Izaya remained staring at the creature; showing fear was never something beneficial to any situation.

The creature rushed the door, some of the disturbing faces pressing against the glass—and he was able to see some of them _smiling_ beneath the thin hide. The hands all pawed hungrily at the door as the Midnight Man spoke, "…Found…You…Mine…Need, but not…Now…Have your…_scent_…Mine…Always…Find you…Now…"

Izaya & Mikado

The blue eyed teen leaned back in his chair, abandoning the notes he had been scribbling down. The teacher's droning voice was practically forcing his attention to focus on anything else. Mikado glanced at the clock ticking on the sterile white wall of the classroom; at least he wasn't falling asleep today. He had managed a peaceful, dreamless sleep the previous night and actually felt pretty good today, considering the situation he was in.

Turning to look out the window, the boy's mind drifted back to the events of yesterday evening; what had he been thinking? Mikado blushed lightly, embarrassed and regretting his impulsive actions towards Izaya, of all people. The fact remained that, yes, he did indeed _feel_ something for the informant, but this stupid crush probably would have dissipated had he not acted so rashly. He wondered briefly how long he had harboured such feelings; Mikado could never have even guessed at such infatuation until the Midnight Man brought it to his attention in the other realm, _'I took…his form because…it seems…to be…_pleasing_...to you…Heh.'_

Mikado sighed, shifting his attention back to the classroom as he felt the sensation of eyes on him. Subtly scanning the room, Mikado quickly became fidgety as he made eye contact with Anri. She looked so beautiful to him; her shy mannerisms, timid smiles, even the blank yet thoughtful expressions she usually displayed, everything about her drew Mikado in. So wouldn't that mean he still had feelings for Anri?

He already knew the flaw in entertaining such thoughts about her though; Anri felt she couldn't _love_ anything or anyone and that was why she justified using Saika, to love for her. As warped as Mikado may think Anri's logic was, he knew he couldn't break her of it, and therefore, whatever affection he felt for her would never be reciprocated in any way. The boy faked a smile at her and dropped his gaze to the notes he pretended to resume writing.

His thoughts turned more to analysing what he was able to grasp of his pathetically complicated romantic problems; Anri would never return any sort of feelings towards him, yet Izaya seemed at least willing to play along with the entire situation and entertain Mikado's pesky crush. The informant had made that much clear by the chaste kiss he instigated before leaving for Shinjuku. Mikado smiled slightly, since regardless of whether or not the informant was just playing, the relationship between them would be beneficial to the teen.

The informant was obviously in the know and had access to virtually anything Mikado could ever need through his many morally-questionable clients, plus Izaya's influence was an incredibly advantageous factor for him and for whatever may transpire involving the Dollars. Those thoughts, of course, pertained to the logical, calculating part of his personality; the significantly smaller, emotional portion of him was silently hoping the informant was _not_ just playing with him.

The bell sounded, signalling that it was time for his next hour. If nothing else, the boy felt slightly less burdened after thinking. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket; so covertly glanced at it as he was gathering his books, it was a message from Izaya:

_There's a new development in this situation I feel you should be aware of, call me when you're out of school._

Frowning at the message, the teen knew it held nothing aside from negative implications. Mikado became nervous as he wondered what the message was in reference to, the Midnight Man or what happened between them yesterday.

Mikado & Izaya

Izaya stretched and smirked weakly at his phone as he sent the message to the teen, knowing Mikado would be left pondering over the message all afternoon. He felt terrible after yet another sleepless night; it was beginning to wear on him.

That monster had remained on his balcony for what seemed like hours, pawing at the door and whispering incoherently, before finally slithering off into the city below prior to sunrise. The words he was able to make out among the multitude of voices would be unnerving to most people, saying things like 'You're next, not long now.' Though, Izaya, always true to his nature, taunted the voices right back, asking them how it felt to have their souls stuck inside some pathetic false deity for all of eternity unable to move on, even Hell seemed to be more appealing. The Midnight Man itself had said nothing else after it spoke to the black haired man about his jacket, his _scent._ That alone did make the man slightly nervous; it was able to find him now, and that proved problematic, though he did not feel the situation called for panic.

It was like a new game, and one with a worthy opponent; the Midnight Man was turning out to be quite smart and resourceful thus far. It had been intelligent and powerful enough to formulate and execute a plan to lure Mikado to the other realm in his sleep, steal the jacket, and use it as a way to track the informant. Izaya had yet to find a way to get rid of the creature, and though he was progressing in the discouraging task, it still meant the disgusting fiend had a feeble upper hand for the time being.

Yet Izaya knew he was going to win—he never lost games of strategy, and this would be no different than any of the other games. Izaya's light smirk took on a slightly more malicious air as he considered the new progressions of _all_ players involved; he still had his favourite pawn at his disposal, yet he had Mikado available to him in a much different fashion than before.

***The kiss may seem OOC, but I was really wanting to highlight that side of Mikado that _is_ unpredictable and takes control. I know the romantic interaction between them is awkward, but I can't imagine it actually occurring any other way.**


	6. Troublesome Events

Troublesome Events

The nervous boy rushed out of the school the very minute the bell rang. Mikado sighed in relief as he vacated the school grounds, successfully avoiding both Anri and Masaomi; he really did not want to explain the situation to them, especially not Izaya's involvement, considering both his friends seemed to hold such distaste for the older male. He tugged his phone from his school bag and stared at it. The sinking feeling he had was preventing him from pressing a single button. Mikado sighed and put the phone back where it had been, opting for a trip to Shinjuku instead; face to face meetings were the young gang leader's preference anyhow.

His blue eyes stared off into the distance warily as he leaned against the bus stop sign. The boy didn't really feel like trekking all the way there today, and he couldn't control the sick twist of anxiousness permeating throughout his entire being. What was it Izaya needed to tell him? How was Mikado even going to act after yesterday? And here he was, overthinking things, which wouldn't help anything. The teen scrounged up the small bus fare as he saw the rather worn-looking transport approaching from down the block.

After a good while of being jostled and crowded, Mikado was happy to be off the sputtering vehicle; the boy stepped off and made his way through Shinjuku to the older man's lavish apartment complex. As the distance to the complex decreased, Mikado's nerves went into overdrive. He was definitely rethinking his decision, feeling he should have just called; the teen slowed his already sluggish pace as the building came into sight. He stopped walking all together and stared up at the tall, sleek structure; he couldn't believe he was being such a wimp about this, yet he couldn't force his feet to move another step. Of course, yesterday's embarrassment was what was holding him back; he was quite uncertain in his earlier thoughts of just trying to use the relationship selfishly because there was a great chance the informant was having the same ideas, what with Mikado's status as leader of the Dollars.

The teen sighed and mumbled to himself, "Geez, this isn't even a big deal…what's the matter with me?"

"Something wrong?"

Mikado practically jumped out of his skin as he heard the familiar sing-song voice from behind him; upon looking over his shoulder, sure enough, there stood the informant. The teen was beginning to become accustomed to the heat rising to his face. How did Izaya always manage to catch him off guard like this? Mikado turned to face the other fully.

"N-No, I was just coming to see you..." He heard the other male giggle slightly and the teen became even more flustered, "See you a-about your message earlier…"

He barely had to put in any effort at all to frustrate the blue-eyed boy; it was comical, really it was. Izaya grinned devilishly as he gave the teen a small push forward so they could walk to the building, "Of course, _just_ the message. I didn't expect you to come all the way here just for that, though. Then again, I didn't expect to see you standing around brooding in the middle of the sidewalk, either. I don't really care at the moment though," he mused aloud as the kid walked silently beside him. "Our personal situations aside, we have a new problem."

Glancing sideways at Izaya, Mikado already knew something was off; the ever-present smirk retained only a shadow of its usual guile, there was no skipping down the street as per his usual eccentric character, and Izaya looked incredibly wary this evening.

Finding his voice again, Mikado responded as they entered the building, "Which would be what, exactly?"

Izaya didn't respond right away, knowing the pause would annoy the younger male. "Well, it turns out you didn't lose my jacket. Our favourite little Taker stole it from you when it dragged you to the other realm."

Mikado's brow furrowed in thought, wondering why the Midnight Man would do that, then it dawned on him; the creature could now track the informant as well as the any of its victims. "It came after you last night…" It was a statement not a question.

It was entirely his fault, and Mikado felt his stomach twist with anxiety and guilt. A new horror crossed his mind as the blue-eyed teen remembered his conversation with Celty: _'Souls that a Taker is drawn to…'_ So the Midnight Man was drawn to Izaya's soul? Of course it was! The informant himself had said it was attracted to negativity, and after everything the Midnight Man had said to Izaya in their first encounter, it made perfect sense.

"It didn't try anything, but it did pay me a nice visit by standing on my balcony all night. It isn't going to actively pursue me yet, though; it probably won't even really try until it gets you, Mikado. The Midnight Man seems to be quite the stickler for the rules, but it's becoming much bolder from what I can tell…" Izaya shot Mikado a pointed look, as he had found out the kid had a little impromptu meeting with the Dullahan, which he had neglected to mention as of yet; it annoyed the informant to be kept out of the loop. Izaya quickly unlocked his door and held it open for the now thoughtful-looking teen.

Once inside, Mikado became aware that Izaya's so-called secretary was not there; despite the new perils at hand it made him very anxious. The teen watched the older male head for the landing containing all the books and files, then reluctantly followed. The table that was placed amongst the many shelves was completely buried under books and papers.

"Well, since we are a bit pressed for time, I have an idea to run by you," Izaya said, catching Mikado's attention once more.

The teen stood still awkwardly, waiting for Izaya to continue; he was eager to hear the older male say he had devised some sort of solution to escape that disgusting Taker, yet the boy was trying not to get his hopes up if it was not so.

The informant took a seat in one of the chairs, watching the boy fidget and squirm with anticipation; with a sigh he motioned to Mikado to take the other available seat before he began, "I was thinking about how we can't really doing anything due to the connection you and the other players of the game have with that thing; it really is a tremendous hindrance to defeating it. I was curious, have you talked to any of them about the Midnight Man?" Izaya watched the boy shake his head, then he leaned back to look at the high ceiling. "I hadn't given this much thought until today, but it just seems strange; I trust you remember the unsettling repercussions of tossing the salt at the Midnight Man…When you think about it, you passed out from that incident. Do you not find something off about the fact that they haven't experienced _anything_, like felt something through the ties it has to their souls? If they have the same connections, they should have been affected too."

The teen's brow furrowed as he observed the other; what he was being told made sense but what did it mean? Mikado gulped and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. "Where are you going with this, Izaya?"

Izaya rolled his eyes before lazily looking at the teen, "You're a smart kid Mikado; if there is something awry in the situation, then that means there is something wrong with the Midnight Man. Its actions are escalating and becoming less methodical and more erratic; as Celty explained to you, it's in the process of losing control, even if it doesn't seem like it right now. The fact that it is coming after me before the five of them is evidence of that. Therefore, since the situation is on the path to becoming increasingly volatile, we are going to have to approach this with an unconventional solution…which brings me to ask you this: Do you trust me?"

Izaya & Mikado

Kadota walked slowly in the direction of Russian Sushi since he was in no hurry.

Having just completed a long day of several random odd jobs, he was feeling more than a little tired, and he still had to go meet up with Erika, Walker, and Saburou. As he walked, Kadota idly glanced at the passers-by in Ikebukuro's thickening evening crowd; everyone always seemed to flood the streets after twilight. The man passed by a less populated area, the opening to one of the back roads, an absolutely perfect place for someone to get mugged or be the victim of some other tasteless activities.

His phone beeped; he guessed it was one of the group telling him to hurry up. The former Blue Square smiled wryly as he found his assumption to be correct. Guessing he should walk a bit faster, he quickened his pace to a slight extent.

For no reason in particular, Kadota glanced down the ominous street as he passed by; there were no people, no cars, absolutely nothing down that road—then his eyes happened upon the only thing occupying the desolate street.

He paused mid-step; there was a rather large lump lying to the side of one lane a ways down the block. Kadota felt a slight shiver, as he knew it looked almost like a body, yet he just reasoned he was letting Erika and Walker's fantastic tendencies get to him. As he was about to continue on his way, he saw the mass squirm and twitch; was it actually a person or animal? His eyes widened as he stood still with anticipation, knowing he should go check it out, but something was holding him back. The man had a horrible feeling about this, and it made his stomach twist...Then he heard a whimper from the direction of the form; the whimper escalated into a moan. The sound made his heart speed up—it sounded so utterly tormented.

That settled it. His feelings aside, he had to go check on whoever that was, since what if they needed help?

His heart pounded as he jogged lightly down the block in the direction of the person; the voice sounded like a woman's, and the moans had escalated slightly. She sounded as though she was in a great deal of pain. As Kadota drew nearer, he was able to discern a bit of what she was saying in between her sobs and whines; it sounded as though she was saying the word 'Don't' repeatedly.

"Hey, are you okay?" the former Blue Square called when he got closer. He squinted, but was still not able to see very well—the street lamps were out. "Ma'am?"

"…Don't…"

Kadota paused a couple of yards from where she was laying. "I'm here to help you. Are you hurt?" He was concerned as he watched the form twitch a few more times. Had she been attacked or something?

"…Should have stayed away…" Kadota heard her sob, and he could only stare in her direction in the darkness, confused and concerned.

Squinting at the person sprawled a small ways in front of him, he thought she had to either be in shock or delusional to be speaking in such a fashion. He was really hoping she wasn't just drunk or something. The man pulled out his phone, planning to call Saburou and the group so they would be able to take her to the hospital in the van; it seemed like a bad idea to try and carry her if she was injured.

"Don't worry, you're going to be fine." Even as the words left his lips, Kadota wasn't sure he believed them; she didn't seem to be too well.

The Dollars gang member had only managed to dial three digits before he heard a familiar, stomach-turning noise; having been involved with such louts in the past, he was able to recognize the sound as bones snapping and breaking. His head jerked up to see the silhouette of the woman's body contorting hideously, her limbs all bending unnaturally as she let out an ear splitting, high-pitched scream. Kadota's eyes widened and his mouth hung agape in something akin to morbid fascination as he watched the form writhe and twist; numerous impossibly long limbs bloomed forth in impossible numbers from the entity. What the Hell was he looking at?

Her scream shifted into a sort of growl, its echo bouncing off the brick buildings lining each side of the deserted street; the demonic noise was accompanied by thousands of voices pleading, screaming and moaning much like the original voice of the woman who had lured him towards this hellish creature. Out of instinct, the ex-Blue Square quickly glanced around him to make sure no other enemies were lurking in the surroundings; not a soul was on the street with him…except that thing. His eyes darted back to the threat at hand and he slowly backed up in the direction he had ventured from, the safety of the crowded and well-lit streets.

As Kadota edged his way towards the street, not daring to turn his back on the thing until he was confident the distance between them was sufficient, he saw the creature beginning to react to his actions. The gnarled limbs jerked towards the asphalt and to his utmost horror, Kadota watched the arms begin to pull the deformed mass towards its intended victim as some of the other protruding malformations acted to push the beast's weight.

That was it.

He ran as adrenaline burned through his veins; had he really walked this far away from all the crowds? It didn't seem like it when he first walked this way in his stupid attempt to be helpful…

All he had to do was make it back to the main street, since that thing wouldn't emerge into a bustling evening crowd…right?

Kadota was getting nearer to the throngs of people; just a little further—and rather than reaching the street, he became aware once more of the other's presence behind him. The sprinting gang member glanced over his shoulder and almost lost his footing from pure shock at how _close_ the thing was; how could it have been so fast with no legs? The monster was rapidly closing the distance between them so it was only a few meters away. Its inky claws scraped across the gravel, and Kadota could swear he heard it breathing.

"…Kyouhei…Kadota…_Dotachin_…Foolish…Won't be long…now…all…of you…Mine…"

He shuddered at the chorus of voices which seemed to be further encroaching on him, and he suddenly felt something graze lightly across his calf. Then, finally, he burst through the threshold to the street. Ignoring the stares of the people passing in front of the darkened road, he spun around—to find it vacant of any life or movement. It…It just disappeared into thin air!

The man was still shaken up as he walked to Russian Sushi, being extremely careful to pay attention to his surroundings.

What was that? Did it actually happen? Kadota had experienced very unusual things throughout his life, as it was to be expected when you were acquainted with people like Erika, Walker, Shizuo and Izaya; yet what had happened just now was beyond his comfort zone of 'strange'.

The bell on the door chimed as Kadota pushed it open and headed toward their usual spot in the restaurant; he didn't even bother ordering, since his appetite had completely vanished.

Upon seeing Kadota, Erika and Walker launched into their usual strangeness. "Dotachin," Erika chided with her chopsticks in hand, "Where were you? It never takes you this long to get here!"

"Yeah, we were beginning to think you were abducted by aliens," Walker chimed in animatedly, making Erika ponder before they engaged in what looked to be a long conversation of possible scenarios involving UFOs and body snatchers.

"Guys listen," Kadota spoke in his quiet yet demanding tone, making the two fanatics snap to attention. He removed his bandanna and ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Something _did_ happen…something weird."

Saburou looked up from his bowl of noodles. "What do you mean, weird? You didn't get jumped or anything did you?" He was just now noticing his friend's rather tousled appearance and began to worry.

Erika and Walker leaned forward in anticipation.

"I mean, like…this was _beyond_ Headless Rider 'weird'," Kadota responded after a moment. The otakus erupted in a slew of questions, and the man couldn't really focus on their inquiries because they were both speaking so quickly due to their excitement. "Calm down, just listen…"

He then proceeded to tell them about the woman he was trying to help on the dark street and how what he thought to be a damsel turned into a monster. The group stared back, wide-eyed; they believed him, of course, regardless of how it was just so outlandish and frightening to imagine such a creature lurking in the city.

Mikado & Izaya

Mikado looked at the older male with incredulous eyes; Izaya's question was laughable. _'Do you trust me?'_ Anyone in their right mind would say 'no' immediately and get out of the apartment the moment all the implications of the question set in.

Instead, Mikado put on his best poker face and responded, "Is there anyone who _does_ trust you?"

Izaya quirked an eyebrow at the question; of course Mikado wouldn't give a direct answer because the boy himself was afraid of the significance of his own response. The older male relaxed against the chair and grinned, "Probably not, but you're not 'anyone', are you, Mikado? I mean, at this time, you are one of the most influential power players in Tokyo's underground excluding the yakuza. You put up this front of being a harmless little teen from some paltry little town, yet you command one of the most influential gangs Tokyo has ever seen, not to mention they are loyal followers. You're not 'anyone', Tanaka Tarou."

Mikado's blue eyes widened slightly and he quickly looked down at a random paper on the table's cluttered surface; he was trying not to lose his mask. The two sat in silence for a moment; the boy was awestruck by the information broker's words, and even more so by the tone used. Izaya had sounded impressed, and had implied even he, as a Dollars member, was loyal to Mikado. After the silence hanging between them became thick, the teen tentatively looked back up at the older male; Izaya was simply staring at him with those calculating, auburn eyes and a rare, serious expression, patient as ever for Mikado to collect himself.

There it was again, that small emotional twist. He had to relent, but not fully, so finally replied, "I-I trust you…but only to a certain extent."

"We'll just have to test those limits, then, won't we?" The response was typical of the Dollars' leader, as he had to be ever so cautious, but at least he was acting the way the informant needed him to. A smirk formed on his face as he examined the boy's expression. "Ne, can I ask you something else?"

It was fair to always expect a double meaning from Izaya, so the teen chose to delay the inquiry, "I'll answer your question when you tell me what plan you were hinting at earlier."

"Tch, must you always act so detached?" The older male smirked lightly, "I asked if you trusted me because…I can't provide you with the specifics right _now_. I know that's not what you want to hear, but surely you can understand that I need to get all my pieces in place before making a move." Izaya never took his eyes off Mikado's as he spoke. He could see the kid's annoyance bloom underneath the calm façade; little changes such as a shift in posture, his hands clenching slightly, clear blue eyes narrowing marginally, showed it. The informant giggled, "I take back the detached comment. Why do you allow me to stir such a reaction in you even though you seem so determined to not let such a thing happen?"

Mikado's face tinged pink at the fact that he came off as so transparent when Izaya managed to remain a walking enigma. In an effort for subject change, the teen looked at his shoes and muttered, "Well, since you can't tell me about your plan, what was your question?"

With no hesitation whatsoever, Izaya smiled, "Yesterday, was that your first kiss?" Just from Mikado's demeanour, one would think it obvious, but most neglected to realize that, for the most part, that _was_ the way the boy was and he would act in such a way, regardless of whether it was his first kiss or not. It left the informant genuinely curious, as it meant, for once, he did not know.

The boy's breath caught as his heart pounded in his chest; though the simple question stirred feelings of self-consciousness, he was overcome with anger at the query. His voice was cold and controlled as he spoke, "Why do you feel the need to embarrass me at every opportunity, asking things just to agitate me when you already know the answer?" At that point, he knew he should stop, as he was giving Izaya a greater reaction than he could have expected, yet he couldn't seem to fall silent once he'd started. "If this is something you don't want or you're just going to hold over my head, then just tell me, don't tease me; it's petty."

The smile dropped and Izaya casually examined his nails, "Actually, I _didn't_ know the answer to that one, but I'm going to assume it _was_ your first kiss. In address to the second portion of your statement, I'm not going to hold this over your head, since it _would_ be petty. I never confirmed or denied whether I wanted this or not, and you don't seem to know what you want…Tell me, does it upset you that it wasn't Anri, instead?"

Izaya looked up as he saw the boy stand. The teen no longer looked angry, though he did seem to still be annoyed; rather, the boy more so looked dejected at the statement. He had to wonder if Mikado was upset over the comment about Anri or the fact that he had questioned the depth of the boy's affection towards him.

Blue eyes softened and became thoughtful as the teen said, "I…I don't regret that you were my first kiss, though, at this point, it seems to have been a mistake." Mikado turned to leave—and made it to the top of the stairs before the older male caught his wrist.

The kid wouldn't turn to face him, but he didn't pull away; so...he was mad at the fact that his feelings had been questioned. Izaya's tone never faltered as he calmly asked the teen, "Why do you think it was a mistake?"

Mikado was hyper-aware of the slender fingers gently gripping his wrist. "Because you don't want this, and—"

"I never said anything about the matter. You're interpreting the situation based on your own pessimism, overanalysing and reading in every detail as some sort of incongruity based on your bad experience with your crush on Anri." Izaya sighed as the boy turned around halfway, their eyes meeting. "What is it you _want_, Mikado?"


	7. Phobias

Phobias

Kadota grimaced as the van neared the narrow road where he had encountered the monster. He wasn't exactly excited about going back there. As he glanced back at Erika and Walker in the back-seat, he saw they currently had their faces squished against the window, trying to catch a glimpse of the 'alien'. Well, at least he could be grateful his friends believed him; most people would have probably written him off as crazy, other than those who knew the Headless Rider personally. Which meant very, very few people.

"Over there, that street," Kadota gestured to the left, and Saburo pulled over and parked against the curb. It was getting kind of late by then, so the crowds had thinned out considerably in comparison to earlier; he couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing. Everyone piled out of the van and walked over to the roadway's opening; looking at it now, Kadota felt like an idiot for venturing there alone in the first place. The street was darker than it seemed earlier; all the streetlights down that way remained unlit, and now that he was having a proper look, he could see the small road had numerous alleyways branching off from it.

"Well, I don't see anything there now. Looks deserted," Walker commented, tilting his head to the side. He didn't want to say it aloud, but the situation made him nervous; if Kadota was afraid of the thing it _had_ to be bad. Another thing which further unnerved him was that this roadway had so many back roads and alleys, not to mention it was lined by tall buildings on each side, making it seem even more portentous; that creature, whatever it was, could still be there and could be anywhere.

Feeling it was his responsibility to do so, Kadota began slowly walking down the shadowy street; he felt considerably better when the other three did not even hesitate to follow him. After cautiously walking a ways, the group slowed to a stop, examining their surroundings uncertainly; they weren't far off from where the monster had been laying when Kadota found it.

"Woah, um…Dotachin," Erika voiced in an uncharacteristically wavering tone. She pointed to a wall nearby, drawing everyone's attention; a very thick silence followed. The spot Erika had indicated was certainly a sight to behold; on the nearby brick building were numerous, deep, carved lines. "It almost looks…like claws," the girl whispered.

She was actually beginning to become a bit frightened. Erika was usually not one to get scared, but it was much different to be batting around manga scenarios of the supernatural with Walker versus being faced with proof of it in the real world. She shivered; this _thing_ tried to hurt Dotachin…_and it was still lurking somewhere in the city_. She jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder, but the girl relaxed when she saw it was Walker.

He squeezed Erika's shoulder, trying to put her at ease for what he was about to say; he knew they weren't going to like it. "If we are really planning on looking for this creature, we are going to have to check out these alleys. Since there are a lot…I think we should split up and go look." The eccentric boy ignored the absolutely indignant look Erika was directing at him.

Kadota sighed. Of course, it wasn't something he wanted to do, but Walker was right, and it would take too long if they searched as a group. "Yeah, okay. It should be fine; I bet it isn't even here anymore. If it is, and as long as we don't go to far away from here, it'll be easy for everyone to meet back up in case anything happens…" He trailed off; he at least _hoped_ everything would be alright.

The group quickly dispersed itself among the darkened passages and agreed to meet back up in twenty minutes. Kadota took the one nearest to the clawed wall Erika had pointed out earlier, Erika bravely chose the one adjacent to that, and Walker and Saburou took the two on the opposite side of the street from those.

Izaya & Mikado

Erika tentatively walked away from the street and into the dank corridor; she was really regretting this. The girl had never been more paranoid in her life as she looked skywards, very anxious; Walker had told her to watch the fire escapes, 'just in case.'

"Geez, this is so unnerving," she muttered, and was surprised how deafening her voice seemed as it bounced between the high walls of the buildings. "At least they'll be able to hear me…"

The girl kept her very sluggish pace as she walked, despite feeling slightly more comfortable now. Erika rubbed her upper arms; it was beginning to get really cold, and if there was more light, she would probably have been able to see her breath. She stopped abruptly as she heard shuffling ahead of her; the dark-haired girl squinted to get a better look. Up ahead, the alley opened up into a few different paths. Among the intersection of these other openings, she saw a sizeable figure up against the wall of the left pathway.

Every sense she possessed immediately became alert as she crept quietly up to the figure; her earlier nerves were now channelling into adrenaline and instinct. It reminded her of how she would feel when she and the rest of the van crew participated in their more reckless gang activities. As the otaku neared the figure, she could see it more clearly; it appeared to be a very large dog. She was slightly relieved it wasn't the monster; she did not want to face it alone.

The creature apparently noticed her presence as it began to growl and stand. Erika's heart began to beat rapidly as she looked at the canine—it looked to be anything other than friendly. It was indeed very large now that it wasn't hunched; it could easily be as high as her own waist. As she continued to stare at it, the anime fanatic couldn't help but back away slowly, especially when she noticed its actual state.

Frankly, it looked diseased, and patches of light-coloured fur appeared to be barely clinging on in clumps while dark, bare skin could be clearly seen in other spots. Even in the darkness, Erika could see its eyes reflecting back; or rather, only one to be exact. If she had to bet, she would say the other was missing. The animal stepped forward and lowered its head, snarling even more than before, its short ears sticking straight up and looking to be marred and chewed from past fights. It took a few more steps closer, looking as though it was about lunge—and that was all Erika needed to take off running back toward the street.

As her feet swiftly carried her back in the direction she came, Erika could hear only the vicious growling of the rabid animal right behind her and the thundering of her own blood pumping furiously as she kept on. Had she really walked this far? The Fujoshi gasped when she saw a dead end ahead of her…

No, she _had _come this way, she had walked in a straight line!

"What the Hell?" the girl breathed as she slowed, nearing the wall.

She spun around swiftly when she heard the low, visceral rumble of the beast getting closer. Her breathing was becoming more erratic and uneven, more from panic than exertion. She backed closer to the wall, then...everything seemed to pause, but only for a moment. Erika screamed as the dog lunged for her; she felt its weight as it crashed against her, and instinctively, she threw her arms up in defence. Another shrill cry escaped her as she felt the powerful jaw latch into one of her forearms, where she could feel each sharp tooth tearing through her skin and muscle.

Then she heard it—a voice, or rather voices, whispering and laughing. There was a multitude of them. Her eyes flew open and she frantically tossed her head to each side, trying to locate the source, but she could see nothing. She reluctantly glanced back up at the canine which still appeared to be attempting to tear her arm off...and her eyes widened as her mouth opened to scream, but no further sound would come forth.

The dog…it was different, it was hideous; it didn't look like a _dog_ anymore.

Whatever fur had been on it before was now gone, so only leathery, black skin could be seen. The creature had one deep, empty socket and the eye it still had was glassy and the pupil was dilated huge but not black; it was grey.

It was dead.

Erika looked on in horror as the former canine shifted its position, the front paws pressing themselves hard just below her ribcage; it tilted its head, her arm still trapped between its vice jaws, and as it did so, the head lolled unnaturally to the side…As if its neck had been snapped.

The distressed girl then became hyper-aware of the paws on her midsection—or, more accurately, she became acutely aware of the claws. A moment later, the monster began to scratch wildly, like it would if it was digging in the dirt. At that point, panic set in and she could feel the impossibly long talons tearing through her dress and quickly doing the same to her skin. Tears pricked her eyes as she thrashed wildly, trying to get out from under the entity's front legs.

"…Look…You're bleeding…so much…Karisawa…_Erika_…Look…Your stomach…Arm…Can you feel…claws…shredding…skin?...Heh…" a deep, rich voice rose out amongst the other tittering ones.

Mikado & Izaya

Walker plodded along as he had been for about five minutes, and the most he had encountered was a large rat scurrying through the rubbish. He sighed; the boy was beginning to grow bored. The creature was most likely not this way. As bored as he was, he was secretly thankful it wasn't there. Up ahead, he glimpsed something shining in the dim moonlight, so he paused, then quickened his pace slightly to see what it was; something left behind by the monster, perhaps? As he neared the glimmering object, he saw it appeared to be the corner of a very large rectangular shape, and the item was covered in a thick, draping fabric.

He strolled up to the large object and grabbed a handful of the material, yanking it to the side in what he deemed to be a dramatic fashion. His smile diminished significantly when he came face to face with his own reflection; it was a very large mirror someone had just propped in the alley. The boy quickly averted his eyes from his reflective ones and bent to gather the tarp from the disgusting ground. He had never liked mirrors, as something about looking at an exact copy of oneself unsettled him in the darkest way. Like the reflective self had _stolen _something from you, it was a concept he had never been able to explain, even to himself.

When he was younger, thanks his incredibly overactive imagination, he had surmised that the mirror-copy was essentially some mindless creature which was just copying him. As he grew older and began reading, he stumbled upon another unnerving idea; he had read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which introduced the notion of an entirely different world beyond the mirror. He shivered at his reminiscence, since it was irrational, and he was well aware it was.

Standing on his tip-toes, he tried to throw the tarp back on top of the mirror; it was a great deal taller than him, so it must have been from a clothing store dressing room or something. He tossed the cloth up once more, but it simply refused to catch the edge. He bent to retrieve the troublesome sheeting once again, and as he straightened, he caught a flicker of movement in the mirror which didn't belong to his reflection.

The otaku froze for a moment, then dismissed it as a mere trick of the eye.

Stretching to try throwing the cloth over the offending object once more, he felt the hem of his sweatshirt catch on something; the boy turned slightly to look behind him, but he could see nothing. He attempted to reach upwards again, but still he felt it. Annoyed, he brought his hand down to straighten it, but when he attempted the action, he was met with resistance. It surprised him, making him drop the covering back to the dirty gravel; then he caught the glimpse of movement in the mirror for the second time.

Walker felt his stomach twist as he noticed a gnarled, black hand gripping his reflection's sweatshirt tightly; the unsightly appendage was attached to a bony arm of the same shade which, in the reflection, appeared to be snaked around his waist. What was going on? He turned, slightly dumbfounded, only to see nothing behind him.

Before he was able to react, he felt a cold breath against his neck; the young man stiffened completely as he looked on at the mirror. In the replicated image, he took in his own startled expression, but was shocked completely when he saw the top of the figure's head look over the shoulder opposite the side of the hand. His usually narrowed eyes widened as he saw the greasy, black head of hair emerge. The nasty tresses cascaded down slightly before giving way to a grotesque, ink coloured face.

He felt like he was going to hyperventilate, though at the moment, he would be relieved if he was able to breathe at all. He could feel himself shaking; what was _happening_?! His eyes then shifted to the thing's face—it was…unstable. The longer he stared at it, he could see it shift and change, altering itself every few seconds; higher cheekbones, bigger nose, more defined jawline…it just wouldn't remain the same. In the top corner of the mirror, he saw more movement; his throat felt it had closed by the time the otaku managed to look in that direction. It was another black figure, hanging upside down and grinning, literally, from ear to ear. The figure had no distinct features other than the smile and dark, empty sockets where its eyes should have been.

The upside down figure quickly stretched out and snatched the hood of his image's sweatshirt. What startled the young man was that he could _feel_ every movement these monsters made.

"Stop!" Walker shouted as he felt another latch onto his left leg, wrapping its long limbs tightly around him.

Then the former Blue Square gasped as he looked further behind him in the mirror; hundreds of these things were crawling on the wall and ground behind him, they were everywhere! He closed his eyes tightly as they began murmuring quietly, all of them. What would have been whispers sounded like hisses as he felt the creatures claw at him or pull him in various directions. This was too much; he couldn't do _anything_ to get away, as the monsters had him immobilized.

"Stop…" he pleaded once more.

"…You don't like…what you…_see_…Yumasaki…Walker…You…did win…that…game…didn't you?...You…don't seem...like…much of…a victor now….Heh…"

Izaya & Mikado

Kadota continued on relentlessly searching and remaining vigilant for the creature.

He was unable to keep his mind on anything else; that _thing _knew his full name and his nickname. What stuck out even more so was the comment it had made, _'Won't be long…now…all…of you…Mine…'_ What did that mean? All of his friends? He grimaced at the negative thought, not wanting to consider it, seeing as how he had just let his friends wander off down alleyways alone in the middle of the night. The former Blue Square's expression became even grimmer when he noticed the alley seemed to open up not too far ahead.

Approaching the opening slowly, he made sure nothing was waiting to ambush him or do something equally terrible. Once he actually looked out ahead, he was incredibly confused by the sight with which he was greeted; it looked like the alley ended and opened up to…Tokyo Bay? That didn't even seem plausible. The area he was in was nowhere near the Bay, and there was no way he had walked so far in such a short amount of time, as it hadn't even been twenty minutes yet. He prudently edged near where a desolate dock sat, seemingly harmless, above the unusually turbulent water.

His eyebrows drew together as he looked at the water in utter bewilderment, as though it could answer his unspoken questions. The man was drawn out of his reverie when he heard a familiar voice sound from the end of the dock. He looked up to find Erika standing there looking as confused as he was.

"Dotachin! How did we get to the Bay? I…We didn't…walk that far…" Erika trailed off, looking over at him with eyes full of uncertainty.

"I don't know…Something's wrong here…" Kadota responded once he walked over near the beginning of the dock; it looked rather rickety, so he remained on land. He felt a wave of relief once he realized Erika was here too. It made sense due to the fact that they had walked in the same direction and her alley had been next to his; what didn't make sense was how they ended up _there_. "Erika, I don't think you should be on this thing," he gestured to the dock. "C'mon, we need to go back to Walker and Saburou."

"I came out here because there's something shining down in the water. Look," the dark-haired girl smiled and excitedly pointed towards the water. "It looks important; I was just trying to figure out how to get it."

Kadota sighed before giving her a wry smile as he lightly stepped onto the wooden surface, ignoring the slight creak which emitted from it. He strode out to the end where his friend stood, still pointing, and peered down in the direction she indicated. Sure enough, he saw a fairly large-sized rectangle. He couldn't figure out what it was, but it looked flat and the surface was smooth and silver; it looked molten like mercury, yet it had a pearl-like quality to it which could be seen even through the tempestuous waters.

"I have no idea what that is, Erika. Why do you think it's impor—"

Just as Kadota had turned to look at the otaku, he felt pressure on his chest, then felt the ground fall out from beneath his feet. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth, but was unable to say anything as his back made contact with the surface of the chilly water. Erika had pushed him, he realized vaguely through the feeling of air leaving his lungs from the impact. His thoughts became a jumbled mess as he tried desperately to propel himself back to the surface. He needed air.

His empty lungs burned as he saw the surface approaching, then he was overtaken by a strange sensation. It felt almost like when a person held two magnets of the same polarization together and they repelled one another. The force almost felt tangible, except in this case, he and the surface were the 'magnets', and Kadota could feel himself being pushed back down.

His chest hurt as he tried frantically to overcome the strong, unexplainable cogency holding him below the surface, but it was no use. He expelled the last bit of air he was unaware remained in his lungs. Unable to make his body resist the urge to inhale, Kadota began to panic as he felt the water enter his mouth. He was beginning to get dizzy; this was it, he thought he was going to drown. The Dollars member felt his energy quickly leave him and he stopped struggling as he felt himself sinking lower.

Then he saw something out of the corner of his eye. The silver rectangle was floating precariously next to him; it was curious because the violent water seemed to have no effect at all on the thing. It was suspended and completely still, so Kadota languidly turned his head to look at it; it almost looked like a mirror. What the Hell was a mirror doing floating around in the Bay? Then he realized he couldn't see his reflection, though he _did_ see something equally familiar. It was Walker, or an image of him at least, unconscious against the pearly background of the bizarre object.

His eyes opened wide at that. What was going on?

He felt adrenaline overwhelm him and saw he was pretty much floating just above the bottom of the Bay now; without thinking too much about the pain from his lack of oxygen or his blurring vision, he grabbed a rock from the ground and swam the few meters to the mirror. His vision was blurring badly at that point, and he could practically feel the water accumulating in his lungs, but he managed to strike the pearly surface with the rock, fracturing the image. The rock drifted out of his hand and lazily back to the ground as Kadota saw an increasing number of black spots interrupting his vision, seeming to multiply before him.

Suddenly, he thought he saw Walker's broken image open its eyes.

Mikado & Izaya

Saburou stuck his hands in his pockets as he walked along. He surprised himself, remaining this calm, considering the situation at hand; Kadota was probably right, though, and the monster was long gone by now, hopefully.

The van enthusiast sighed and tugged on the collar of his shirt; why did it have to be so muggy tonight? As the man progressed further down the alley, it was becoming difficult to ignore the weather. Saburou groaned aloud in frustration. What was up with the city tonight? A monster attack on Kadota and now strange weather…His eyes widened slightly. What if this meant the thing _was_ there?

He stopped his walking altogether and nervously examined his surroundings. Nothing looked out of place or suspicious; grimy brick walls marched on either side of him and random garbage bins peppered the path ahead. The man's attention drifted back to the annoyingly high temperature once more as he wiped his brow with his arm. Never really of fan of hot weather, he had always disliked it; the heat seemed to make everything so exhausting and uncomfortable. He quickly took his vest off, since while layers were stylish, they were quite uncomfortable in this weather.

Fanning himself with his shirt as he continued walking, he realized his pace had slowed considerably. He thought back to a rumour he had heard once; it was both outlandish and unsettling. Saburou was in high school and had been complaining about the summer's latest heat wave when a good friend said he had heard a story about a man who had fallen asleep on a roof and the temperatures had become so high his _skin_ actually reached some sort of melting point and liquefied. The man grimaced at remembering such absurdity right then.

The Dollars member paused, feeling slightly light-headed, and leaned against the wall. Saburou was loosely aware his breathing was more laboured than before, and he felt increasingly vertiginous, almost giddy, in the thick atmosphere around him. His thoughts just kept looping: 'It's so hot.' Saburou groaned and slid to the ground, stretching one leg out in front of him and resting his crossed arms on the bent one. His heart pounded against his ribs as though he had run a mile; why did he feel like this?

Suddenly, he blinked a few times to make sure what he was seeing was real.

Then, his mouth hung agape when he became aware of the heat waves he could see rising from the damp asphalt. The man was feeling exceptionally sick by then. Was he getting heat stroke? He held his hand in front of his face, confirming his suspicion that he was shaking badly...then he noticed something else.

His hand looked strange—perhaps it was just his hazy vision. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, praying his body recovered quickly, though his heart was still ominously hammering away despite the lack of exertion.

Saburo twitched slightly as he felt something drop onto his stretched out leg. He glanced down with a look of puzzlement at the small, dark mark the mysterious droplet left as it soaked into the material. He had no clue what it was; looking up, there were no clouds to be seen, so he concluded it wasn't rain. Saburou was planning on shrugging it off when he saw a few more dark-coloured droplets accumulate in the same spot. He slowly realized the moisture was coming from his hand lazily folded over his other leg; was he really sweating that badly? The confused male raised his hand to his face once again—and screamed at what he saw.

He looked on at the appendage with the utmost distress; he felt as though he was going to be sick. Saburou could visibly _see_ the skin melting and dripping from his hand, revealing the muscle and tendons which usually resided below the surface; mixed in with the skin, blood was rapidly escaping and dripping down from his hand as well.

Now that he was actually looking at the gaping, quickly spreading opening, he could _feel_ it burning; Saburou couldn't breathe, he had never been so afraid in all his life! He could _see_ his flesh sizzling away, melting, dripping, bleeding.

"…Heh…Saaaburou…" a deep voice drawled from somewhere in the sweltering alley. "…Togusa…What's…wrong?...No salt…this time…_Mine_…"

The panicked male glanced away from his arm for a fraction of a second, but quickly ignored the voice in favour of focusing on what was happening to him. He kept staring at his arm as he felt the visible muscle beginning to singe away, exposing the pale white bones of his fingers. His eyes began to water; whether from the pain or from his panic, he was unsure. The horrid feeling was now present throughout his body and he could see blood beginning to pool on the uneven gravel.

"This can't be happening," Saburou murmured to himself repeatedly, as though the mantra would make this stop; it didn't. Much to his dismay, he felt the majority of the burning centred in his stomach. "No…No, this isn't fucking happening…It _can't_ be..." he whispered desperately. He was melting; it wasn't even possible. "Oh God…" he choked as he could feel blood soaking his shirt.

_"All…Mine…"_ the voice laughed maliciously. It rebounded off the high walls, sounding as though it was everywhere at once.

***Walker-catoptrophobia/fear of mirrors (of the entire group, this was the most difficult to write because I am scared of **_**large**_** mirrors)**

**Erika-amychophobia/fear of being scratched, clawed or lacerated (it's off beat enough to be appropriate for her and still have the potential to be vivid), so no her fear wasn't the dog…but I couldn't come up with a better way to execute it without it seeming too random and offhand to begin with; stray dog in alley- completely normal at first glance. I tried to allude to her fear when she was looking at the claw marks on the wall, but it was a bit too subtle**

***Apologies for OOC moments for Togusa (I have zero knowledge on him so I kind of just played up the fact that he is a loyal person that happens to be kind of melodramatic). In note to this phobia concept, here is what I based the fears in this chapter on: **

** Kadota-Antlophobia/fear of floods or being entrapped in water (not to be confused with Aquaphobia/fear of water in general); Dotachin is, for the most part, everyone's idea of the average nice guy, so I decided to not stray too far away from common fears. Other than Erika's this one was kind of difficult to come up with, because how on Earth could I have someone drown in an alleyway? Hence the bay. **

** Saburo-Thermophobia/fear of heat, in this case only very extreme; in the anime, Saburo's character is explored to a **_**very **_**minimal extent, so I picked one of the more daring yet understandable phobias. I honestly think his might have been the worst to deal with so I conveyed his panic a bit more obviously than I did the others. The rumour mentioned was an absurd one I actually heard when I was younger, I really don't think something like that is possible but I never looked into it. I'm really sorry, I know he was OOC :(, but I think anyone would have a nervous breakdown if they were melting. The foreshadowing was ridiculously blatant but feh, it was there. **


	8. Chain Reaction

Chain Reaction

Erika screamed as the beast's claws continued to tear at her skin; she couldn't handle it! The pain vacantly registered somewhere in the back of her mind, but the dark haired woman was more concerned with the actual _actions_ occurring. All of it was just so surreal she would even go so far as to say it was impossible. She was so concentrated on her own distress she didn't hear the screech resounding from down the passage.

All at once, she felt the weight lift off her.

Quickly, Erika's eyes shot open; she hadn't even realized she'd closed them. Nervously, she looked to the side—just in time to see the canine monster roll back onto its feet and turn away from her. Now that she was looking at it fully, properly, the manga enthusiast was able to see a few more faces bulging from the sides of the being, beneath the now very visible and misshapen rib cage. She quickly turned her attention to the other presence in the alley with them, the one which had knocked the dog off her; standing in the centre of the narrow path, scythe in hand, was the Black Rider.

The young woman stared in awe at the Dullahan, at this moment her saviour, and gasped, looking on with wide eyes as the creature leapt with a vicious growl, aiming straight for the bright yellow helmet. A hiss emitted as thick claws dug into the helmet, contacting it with such force it was propelled to the side to crash against the wall. Erika wasn't exactly surprised, as she had seen the Headless Rider sans helmet, once before at the Dollars meeting, yet the sight of the black shadows pouring from its neck was still enough to send chills of excitement through her.

Said Rider poised the scythe holding off the hound, then quickly thrust the entity backwards and raised the black sickle high above its shoulders and violently slashed straight through the fiend. The creature was severed diagonally and its upper and lower halves were completely disconnected by the blow; numerous anguish-filled voices cried out upon the attack and a thick, ink-like substance splattered on the ground and the adjacent walls. One last demonic-sounding howl of pain and Erika watched as the dog crumbled and writhed before going completely limp before the malformed carcass essentially evaporated into the air as though it had never been there at all.

Suddenly regaining her senses and recalling the matter at hand, the woman quickly made to examine her arm and stomach. The Fujoshi blinked a few times, hardly believing her eyes—there were no wounds to be seen, not even tears in her clothes!

Had she just imagined it? No, she couldn't have, because the Black Rider was still there and once again sporting the yellow, cat-eared helmet. More, the bright colour of the helmet was accompanied by deep gashes from where the claws had hooked into it.

Erika jolted when she saw a black hand enter her field of vision; she looked up to see the motorcyclist offering her a hand to stand, which she gratefully accepted. Now that she was upright once more, the woman was able to see the black bike standing not too far down the alley. The bike was something she expected to see; what she didn't expect to see was the unconscious person slung haphazardly over the motorcycle.

"Saburou..." Erika mumbled, wide-eyed as she jogged over to him. "S-Saburou!" He wasn't waking up…Oh no, had one of those things gotten to him, too?

Celty watched as the dark-clad woman raced over to her friend; tonight had been a rather busy one. On her way home from one of her courier drops, the Dullahan had sensed something particularly malicious skulking around in the city. The presence, along with what Mikado had told her, made the entire affair seem so much worse. When she'd decided to cruise among the alleys centred around where she could feel the entity, Celty had stumbled across the panicked van driver.

The Dullahan walked after the upset-looking woman and quickly typed out a message on her PDA, [He's okay now, just unconscious. He will be fine when he wakes up, probably just a little shaken up.] The headless woman was glad to see the relief wash over Erika's face as her rigid stance visibly relaxed.

"Thank you for saving me," Erika smiled weakly. She wanted to ask what, exactly, the thing was which had attacked her, and apparently Saburou too, but a new fear thrust itself into the forefront of her mind as she gasped, "What if it went after Walker? And Dotachin! We have to go find them!"

Izaya & Mikado

_"What is it you _want_, Mikado?"_

Those words seemed to be stuck in the boy's mind as he tried to process them. Mikado held his breath as he stared wordlessly up at Izaya; what _did_ he want? His blue eyes raked over the ringed hand still wrapped around his wrist, the latter of which seemed to be shaking with his anxiousness.

Mikado took a deep breath and tugged his captive wrist free. "I…want this…"

The blue eyed teen locked onto Izaya's auburn gaze as he watched a smirk appear on the older male's face, though it seemed to hold a little less puckishness than usual. The informant seemed to like his answer.

He really couldn't believe Mikado was going to give in so easily. Not that Izaya was going to complain about it; rather, it just seemed very audacious in comparison to the teen's usual, cautious self. At least the blue eyed boy was surprising him; meek Mikado was never as much fun as the assertive side of the boy. Izaya was a bit impressed with himself, being able to keep a straight face in wind of the teen's subtle yet aggressive actions, such as pulling his wrist away.

It was pure symbolism, and conveyed the fact that Mikado _didn't_ want the older man to assume he was in control. It was surprising, oh, so surprising that the Dollars' leader seemed so self-assured despite the fact that he had just thrown caution out the window in favour of 'love'. Calculating auburn eyes made note of the flaws in the ostensibly cold expression on the boy's face; a slight curve of the mouth giving an almost imperceptible hint of a smile, the intimation of satisfaction slightly veiled in the deep azure color of his eyes, the relaxed posture—Mikado was completely content with this new development in their relationship.

Deciding to push this new found confidence, Izaya stepped closer to the teen, "Well, you seem to be in rather high spirits with this change in dynamics between the two of us." The information broker watched with a Cheshire cat smile as Mikado's face burned red at the statement.

"I…" The teen paused and looked at the space, or lack thereof, between them. He felt his pulse quicken a bit at the thought, but caught himself quickly. "Change? You haven't said what it is _you_ want yet; all I did was answer your question." Mikado kept his expression serene to make the statement seem innocent, even though both males knew better. The boy wanted to hear Izaya's response, though, wanted to hear him say it, not just make the teen guess at everything.

Of course, the nature of the boy's response didn't escape Izaya, but he liked to be the one in control of the game, not the one playing along. "Hm, I guess you're right. Things changed the other night outside of Russian Sushi, when you kissed me." Izaya bit back a laugh as the teen's face dropped. "I never said it was an unwelcome change, though."

Mikado looked at the ground for a moment in response to the statement; it may not have been exactly the answer he wanted, but it was definitely something he wanted to hear. The boy hesitantly took a step forward, closing the majority of the small distance remaining between them, and timidly glanced up at the other. As he looked up at the informant's face, Mikado felt the sudden, uncanny sensation of complete vertigo; the feeling consumed him, making the room twirl and the pressure of a migraine swiftly develop, centred behind his eyes.

What was going on?

He squeezed his eyes shut and felt his lungs constrict as though there was a heavy weight on his chest. The boy very hazily realized Izaya had steadied him so he didn't collapse. The older male was speaking to him, but he couldn't understand the words being said...And then...

Darkness.

Mikado & Izaya

Celty skilfully manoeuvred the infamous black bike, weaving through the confined openings between the bustling vehicles of Tokyo's traffic. The Dullahan was riding around trying to clear her head (figuratively, of course) of the startling events of the past hour.

After the headless woman had helped Erika search for the rest of the van gang, the pair had easily found both Walker and Kadota conscious and unharmed, albeit unnerved by what they had experienced. Both said something uncanny about a mirror and momentarily seeing the other before they began coming to their senses, but what they'd said made little sense. To further their odd behaviour, Kadota had seemed somewhat uneasy around Erika at first, but wouldn't say why, and had relaxed fairly quickly once he heard their side of the frightening tale.

Though everything had turned out for the better, Celty knew the Takers which caused the incident would be back. She would have to ask Shinra about them when she got home; the underground doctor always seemed to know at least a little about everything. Lost in her thoughts, it barely registered that her PDA was beeping, alerting her about a message she'd just received. Curiously, she glanced down, wondering who would be texting her at this time:

_There's something I need you to take to Shinra for me, you may pick it up at my apartment._

Celty inwardly groaned at Izaya's message; not that she wasn't grateful for the work he provided her with, she would just rather not deal with the insane man.

Izaya & Mikado

Izaya sighed loudly as he put away his phone and glanced at the unconscious teen laying next to him on the couch. "I wonder what would have happened if you hadn't passed out, ne?" Of course, the question yielded no response from Mikado.

The informant tilted his head to the side and observed the boy; obviously his sleep wasn't proving to be a pleasant one. His closed eyes kept roving back and forth beneath his lids, his breathing seemed a bit shallow for being in such an insensate state, and Mikado kept murmuring in his sleep. Much to the informant's delight, most of the boy's latent whispers seemed to contain his name quite frequently.

He was returned from his thoughts as a knock sounded on his door; Celty certainly did make great time when she needed to. The man gingerly hopped off the couch, not the least bit concerned with waking the kid, and answered the door. He smirked as he opened the door and gestured the Dullahan inside—it was always amusing how on edge she seemed to be around him.

[What did you need me to pick up?] Celty typed quickly.

"My, my, you seem to be in quite a rush this evening. Long night, Celty?" Despite the teasing tone used, Izaya was well aware that Mikado's sudden fainting was the product of something which had happened with the Takers; who would be better to ask about these alleged events than the city's own urban legend? It became clear the woman was not in the mood to answer him, so the eccentric man sighed and gestured towards the couch. "It's over there."

Warily, Celty walked around to the front of the sleek, black sofa. She just became more confused when she saw Mikado curled up and out like a light, then it clicked. '..._something I need you to take to Shinra…'_

[What happened to him? What's wrong?]

"He just fainted. I would assume something occurred involving his little Taker friends this evening; you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Izaya asked in his silky voice, being careful to separate the amusement from nonchalance in his tone; if Celty was this worried over the young gang leader, she wouldn't keep any information from him.

Celty quickly typed out the gist of what she encountered earlier with the Takers and the van crew. She couldn't help but be vexed by the smirk which appeared on Izaya's face as he read over the message on the PDA. The Headless Rider watched apprehensively as Izaya took a seat at his desk, twisted smile still in place, and began to slowly spin around in the chair.

"Hm, so it's finally involving our other players in this game using a surprise attack of mental torture. Very interesting. Perhaps it hasn't completely lost it just yet. I was wondering what it was going to do. This was to be expected, of course, since it doesn't seem to be able to do very much physically, so how _else_ would it have done damage to anyone? But to think it could affect all of them at once! _That_ is impressive!" Izaya mused excitedly, mostly addressing himself, though he was never one to deny an audience. Upon the last word, he abruptly stopped spinning and faced the black clad woman. "He fainted because you injured the Midnight Man when you slashed the dog-monster. I think Shinra needs to examine him, though, to validate he's okay physically."

Izaya couldn't have something happening to his most important game piece…yet.

Mikado & Izaya

Mikado groaned as he turned over onto his left side. Why was he so uncomfortable? Usually, he didn't experience problems such as this while sleeping. As he left the realm of unconsciousness, the teen realized he could hear voices in the background; he recognized one as Izaya's, and the other he was unfamiliar with, but the stranger was definitely male. Upon this discovery, he tried to think back to what happened before he went to sleep.

Why would Izaya and some stranger be having a conversation in his apartment? The boy abruptly sat up as he remembered collapsing in the informant's apartment, rather than 'going to sleep' in his own. Blue eyes darted around for a moment as he took in his strange surroundings; he was on an unfamiliar couch in an apartment that was completely alien to him. The place was clean and seemingly normal, but Mikado was still unnerved by this turn of events.

The teen remembered passing out, but he still had no idea why it had happened, and he began trying to think of what triggered the episode. A chilling thought entered his mind—what if Izaya had something to do with it? He really wouldn't put it past the older male, and he was alone with the information broker in his apartment before everything happened…Yet he couldn't find a possible motive for why Izaya would do such a thing, or even how he would execute the task; not to mention, Mikado didn't really want the informant to be at fault in light of the conversation they were having prior to the boy's impromptu nap.

He glanced around the room again and laid eyes on the coat slung over the back of the couch; Izaya's new, completely identical jacket. Instinctively, Mikado reached out for it; it didn't have nearly as much character as its predecessor. The teen jolted, haphazardly tossing the clothing article back over the sofa as he heard soft footsteps approaching, even as he realized the conversation which had been occurring elsewhere in the residence had stopped. He looked over to see the informant enter the room from what appeared to be a contemporary-looking kitchen. Slightly behind Izaya was another dark haired man who looked to be about the informant's age and who was wearing a pristine white lab coat over casual business attire and glasses.

"Well, it's nice to see that you've re-joined the waking world," Izaya smiled at the teen. The informant knew he was probably delighting far too much in the disoriented look on Mikado's face, and to a lesser extent, the way the blue eyes immediately focused on _only _him. He also knew that, for someone as meticulous and cautious as the Dollars' leader, being in foreign surroundings like this must be pushing him ever closer to a metaphorical edge with the Midnight Man situation looming over the boy's head. It was just what Izaya needed for the kid at the moment, so he might as well silently celebrate the fact that things were going so perfectly; the closer Mikado got to the edge, the more trust he would place in the informant, and ultimately, the easier things would be for Izaya in the grand scheme of things.

"Um…Where…Am I exactly?" Mikado asked in a wavering voice as he made eye contact with the bespectacled stranger behind Izaya for the first time. Everything about this situation seemed strange, though it did not seem nearly as unsettling as it was when he first woke up. His eyes subconsciously made their way back to meet the informant's calm ones.

"Celty apparently injured, or at least incapacitated, the Midnight Man, so you collapsed once again. In light of the situation, I had you brought here to Shinra's," Izaya gestured to the underground doctor, "to see if these fainting spells are causing you any physical harm."

"O-oh…" That wasn't the response Mikado was expecting. The teen looked over to the man Izaya had identified as Shinra. He looked kind of young to be a doctor, but he didn't seem threatening in the slightest; therefore, he certainly didn't seem like the type to associate with someone like the informant. "They don't, right?"

Shinra stepped forward slightly. "No, I gave you a full check-up, and it seems you're completely fine, other than some sleep deprivation." The underground doctor saw the boy's expression turn thoughtful at the news. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mikado. Celty has mentioned you quite a few times."

The news that Shinra knew Celty surprised Mikado slightly, though when he thought it over, it made sense the Dullahan, the doctor, and the informant were all connected. The teen put on a polite smile and a conversational tone, "Oh, you know Celty?"

Shinra gave a genuine smile, "Yes, quite well actually. She's my—"

"Roommate," Izaya interrupted, smirking widely as he watched Shinra's expression darken. He knew the term bothered Shinra to a deep extent. Despite the dynamic his and Celty's relationship seemed to have taken on, that was the only word Celty ever used to describe Shinra; not 'boyfriend', not 'lover', just her 'roommate'. Honestly, Izaya thought it was kind of silly on Shinra's part to be so upset over a word, so it never stopped him from taking the opportunity to tease his friend.

"Yeah," the doctor deadpanned for a moment as he looked pointedly at Izaya's beaming expression. "I'm going to go make some tea, I'll be right back." Shinra walked toward the kitchen and glanced back to see the informant gracefully take a seat on the couch next to the teen. Something about the gesture seemed a bit odd.

Mikado fidgeted slightly as Izaya made himself comfortable, settling in quite close. Feeling uncomfortable with the silence that had developed, the teen stuttered, "H-how long was I asleep?"

Izaya glanced sideways at the boy before grinning, "Well, it's almost five in the afternoon, so I would say you were out for a _long_ time. Honestly, in these past few days, I've spent more time with you asleep than conscious." The older male laughed as he saw Mikado flush with embarrassment at the remark.

"I-I'm sorry," he mumbled self-consciously. Then the boy thought back to what was being said to him when he first woke up. "You said Celty injured the Midnight Man, but how?" Mikado watched the older man's face take on a more serious look, and subsequently, felt his stomach flip.

"It seems the Midnight Man is drawing our other players back into the game by implementing various forms of mental torture. Celty is currently out looking for them to tell them what, exactly, that lovely game has gotten them into," Izaya spoke matter-of-factly. He then proceeded to go into more detail about the incidents of the previous night.

Mikado was so engrossed and simultaneously horrified by the recount that he failed to notice Shinra return with the tea.


	9. Twisting

Twisting

Masaomi walked languidly down the fairly crowded street. The weather was nice today, so it seemed no one wanted to be cooped up inside, including the gorgeous girls currently sashaying down the sidewalks. However, the blonde didn't have time for them right now; no matter how pretty they were, he was distracted. He hadn't seen nor heard from his best friend in a few days, and it was beginning to worry him. What was up with Mikado? The shy boy hardly ever missed school, and he had never just fallen off the grid like this; Masaomi had just gone to the other boy's apartment and received no answer.

Something had been off about his friend the last few times Masaomi had seen him, anyhow; Mikado had been tired, worried, jumpy, and distracted, all of these signs raised red flags to the blonde. Was Mikado busy with some Dollars issue? He had thought that, for the most part, the city's gang issues had calmed down after the last fight…

Suddenly, the worried teen stopped walking as he spotted what he considered his own personal warning sign; a little ways down the block he could see that ostentatious fur-trimmed coat—and much to Masaomi's disdain, its owner, Orihara Izaya. He hated that man to his very core; Izaya was nothing but a sadist who toyed with people and all but destroyed them once he was bored.

What disturbed him more than seeing the object of his odium was the fact that the monster had Mikado with him. There was his missing companion walking side by side, talking, _laughing_ with the knife-wielding psychopath; what _was_ Mikado _doing_?

The blonde couldn't help himself; he kept watching them, and how could he not when everything about this seemed so suspicious? He was careful to stay fairly far from the pair, making sure there were several random people separating them; finally, Izaya and Mikado detached from the crowd and wandered to an empty sitting area away from the main street.

_What the Hell were they doing_? Was Mikado really using Izaya's services as an informant for the Dollars? Masaomi became even more afraid at the thought; he had used Izaya for the Yellow Scarves and the informant had essentially traumatized him. This was bad…His attention returned to the two other men; Masaomi was too far away to hear them, but they were talking about something. The teen noticed Izaya smirk and then...the entire exchange turned strange.

The two were standing far too close to be considered professional; in fact, now that Masaomi was noticing it, the closeness seemed almost intimate. The blonde boy watched, unknowingly holding his breath, as Mikado leaned upwards and connected his lips with the informant's still smirking ones.

_They were together._

Masaomi felt slightly numb at the realization, though the numbness quickly gave way to a sting of betrayal, not just for himself, but for Anri as well. Nothing about this seemed right.

A few seconds later, he watched them start to walk away once more, and the blonde teen could only stand still, shell-shocked. Before the couple were too far, though, Masaomi felt cold fear wash over him as those malicious auburn eyes connected with his and Izaya smiled even wider.

Standing there for a few more moments, Masaomi tried to sort his own thoughts and feelings so he could decide what to do about the new situation. He wasn't angry with Mikado, he was angry with Izaya for trapping his friend in such a tasteless fashion, that much he knew for sure. Though, he still knew he'd probably handle it badly with Mikado, regardless—he was notoriously bad at dealing with and directing his emotions.

As he was standing there pondering it, he felt someone grab his upper arm, not roughly or threateningly, but the grip was firm. Masaomi turned to face the person; it was a tall, thin man clad in a long black coat, black hat, and black gloves. Immediately, the teen was set on edge.

"He's using your friend," the man said in a deep voice which held such a harsh quality it surprised the teen.

Masaomi opened his mouth to retort, but couldn't formulate a reply; how could this stranger know that?

"He's taking your friend away from you. He's going to turn Mikado against you."

"No, Mikado isn't that malleable. He may go along with Izaya for a while, but he's smart. Mikado won't fall for that," Masaomi responded angrily, yanking his arm out of the stranger's grip.

"Well, Izaya was able to make Saki fall in love with you, and he was also able to take her away from you. She says she loves you, but if he handed her another order, what do you think she would do?"

His eyes widened at the words; who _was_ this man? He knew far too much about Masaomi's private life, especially that last part. The blonde was always scared Saki would indeed abandon him in favor of the informant.

"It's fair to say he pretty much has Saki in his back pocket, and the only reason she is still with you is because Izaya doesn't need her right now. If he takes Mikado away, too, then what are you left with?"

_Nothing_.

Izaya & Mikado

"No way! In an awful way, that's actually really exciting," Erika exclaimed after she finished reading the Dullahan's message. Not that she and the van crew were strangers to the extraordinary happenings which occurred in Ikebukuro, but the fact that some otherworldly villain was pursuing them was enticingly far-fetched.

"Yeah! It's like we are the underestimated protagonists of the storyline," Walker commented, his mind already wandering across the expanse of possible plot ideas and outcomes. No doubt, a doujinshi of theirs about this situation would soon be being drawn.

Kadota stared at the Dullahan's PDA screen stoically before looking up at the Black Rider, "So, there's some soul stealing monster after us because we played some stupid _game_ we found on the _Internet_?" The former gang member was absolutely incredulous at this notion.

[I think Shinra will be able to explain more of it to you, but everything that happened last night was caused by the 'Midnight Man' you summoned in your 'game'.] Celty typed quickly, then asked the van crew to go ahead and meet her back at the apartment.

Mikado & Izaya

Mikado and Izaya remained with the underground doctor, making small talk as they waited for Celty to return.

The boy stared thoughtfully at his reflection in the cup of tea Shinra had given him; how on Earth were they going to stop the Midnight Man if it was so powerful it could trick a person's mind? He quickly jolted himself from his thoughts; if it had happened to the van crew, did that mean something happened to Masaomi as well? Pulling out his phone and ignoring the intrigued stare from Izaya, Mikado dialled his best friend's number—it was so familiar to him now. The teen tapped his fingers anxiously as it rang.

Izaya glanced over at the blue eyed boy with an amused smile on his face as he watched Mikado practically twisting with the stress of a simple phone call. The younger male was calling his little blonde friend, no doubt. Hm, this was the first time the informant thought about what might have befallen Masaomi, seeing as how Kadota and company were attacked pretty severely; it was only expected something had happened to the little Yellow Scarf as well.

Izaya & Mikado

Masaomi looked down at his phone and merely watched it for a minute as it kept ringing, Mikado's name flashing on the ID screen. What was he supposed to do, just answer and act like everything was normal? Pretend he _hadn't_ seen Mikado with that repulsive jerk? Even if it had been awhile since he'd seen the two together and talked with that strange man in black, he wasn't entirely sure he could deal with his friend.

With a sigh, the blonde boy answered his phone, "Hel—"

Before he could even finish his half-hearted greeting, Mikado cut him off with something really, really strange, "Masaomi! Are you alright?"

This confused the teen. "Yeah, I'm fine. Mikado, are _you_ okay?" His shy friend sounded panicked and flustered—even more so than he normally was. It was perplexing, as he had seen Mikado not even an hour earlier, so what could have the timid boy so upset?

There was an even longer pause on the other teen's end of the line, and Masaomi could hear the confusion in Mikado's tone as he asked tentatively, "You…You're fine? Nothing weird has happened?"

The Yellow Scarves' leader pursed his lips, now very unsettled with the way this conversation was turning out; what could Mikado be _talking_ about? The other teen hadn't seen Masaomi watching him earlier…but Izaya had. Masaomi took a deep breath; now he was being paranoid. When he thought about it, he didn't even know _what_ he had really been watching earlier—all he had were the conclusions he jumped to. It was possible there was some agreement for payment—okay, that thought was even scarier by what kind of 'payment' the kiss would imply. Now he was successfully scaring himself even more.

"Masaomi?"

The blonde sighed, knowing he had taken too long thinking. "Umm, what do you mean by 'weird'?"

"W-Well, you haven't had...how can I explain...? Has anything...um...like someone knowing things they shouldn't, or anything bad happened to you? Or, have you noticed anything off since…we played that Midnight Game?"

He almost wanted to laugh. "This is about that game?"

"Masaomi, look, we really need to talk, there's a lot about you don't know. C-can we meet somewhere?"

Even against his better judgement, Masaomi couldn't agree more; they definitely needed to talk, even if it was about two different things. He really couldn't get past the sting of betrayal he had felt earlier, and even it was eclipsed by the fact that Mikado was once again keeping secrets. Masaomi had kind of expected Mikado to learn his lesson after the gang war that had broken out—which could have been avoided if he and Mikado had known the positions the other held from the beginning. Though, he had to admit the 'keeping secrets' part was also his fault, so he had to force it to stop. Now.

These emotions were what spurred the blonde to reply, "I figured you'd still be busy." However, as soon as the words escaped his lips in that cold tone, Masaomi regretted it.

"...Busy?" Was it just him, or did Mikado sound entirely perplexed?

"Yeah. With Izaya." Again, his tone was quipped, but he just couldn't help himself.

On Mikado's end, the boy's mouth fell open and he felt his face instantly heat up; what was Masaomi _talking_ about? Did the blonde mean he knew about the relationship, or whatever it was considered, that Mikado had gotten into with the informant? Or was the blonde referencing the fact that Mikado was using Izaya as an informant to help with the web of problems which had been spun by the Midnight Man? Either way, how would _Masaomi_ know about it?

The black haired teen tried desperately to keep his voice steady as he asked, "W-Wwhat do you mean?" And knew instantly he'd failed, causing Izaya to raise a brow at him in a rather questioning way, then lean closer to the phone to hear the reply.

"I saw you together." Mikado heard his friend sigh before continuing, "Look, I'm not mad at _you_ for that, but really, you couldn't even _tell_ me you're _with_ him?"

Izaya watched as Mikado's blue eyes went wide, though at that point, the older male couldn't really blame him; sitting so close in such a silent room made it easy to hear both sides of the phone conversation. Something was puzzling though—how could Masaomi have found out about it? Their 'relationship' had only been going on for a few days, and the only thing _anyone_ possibly could have seen to construe the relationship as anything other than professional was the first kiss outside of Russian Sushi. Masaomi hadn't been around for that, Izaya was almost certain. Interesting.

"M-Masaomi, look it's complicated and you don't understa—" Mikado began shakily, his mind racing to try and think of something to resolve this brewing conflict.

"Whatever, Mikado."

And then nothing could be heard but the dial tone.

The teen looked down worriedly at his cell phone; Masaomi was mad at him and his friend was still in danger from the Takers. It was understandable his friend would be angry about it, though; not only had the blue eyed teen hidden something so important from him, but anything to do with Izaya was a touchy subject to Masaomi...which was understandable considering the history between them.

Mikado felt slightly sick at the thought and realization; he hadn't even _considered_ divulging his romance with the older male to the blonde. He should have known it would illicit a bad reaction, especially when taking into account the strange dynamic he had heard about between the information broker and Masaomi's girlfriend, Saki. Even though Izaya hadn't shown any interest in her for over a year, if Masaomi himself was to be believed, there was a chance he'd make contact with her again.

He glanced over at Izaya and sighed, "Masaomi is mad. I-I don't know how he…" The teen trailed off when he remembered Shinra was still in the room.

"I heard, but at least he wasn't 'attacked' like Kadota's group," Izaya mused, observing Mikado's dejected expression.

Suddenly, the teen sat up straight and blinked at Izaya, asking, "You mean...he _was_ attacked?"

"You noticed it too—how did he know? When did he see such a thing?" the older man asked in a rather dry tone—and Mikado's eyes went wide again.

"In other words, he doesn't even _know_ something strange happened...but why would the Midnight Man do something like that?" Mikado mused slowly.

"What's Masaomi's weakness?" Izaya asked in reply. "Since I'm guessing the mental attack is meant to be by using one's greatest weakness or fear against a person, what would your blonde friend's be?"

After a long silence, the teen replied, "Being alone." Then, both understood.

Mikado & Izaya

Masaomi put his phone in his pocket and continued walking down the still-crowded streets. He quickly became aware of the figure which had sidled up to his right; matching his steps was the dark-clad figure from earlier.

"You know, I could get rid of the informant...though, I would require slight assistance. You wouldn't have to worry about what happens to Mikado or Saki with Izaya away from them," the man spoke in his commanding manner.

The blonde glanced over to the odd man, only to find he was no longer walking next to him. Masaomi wasn't stupid; he knew something was definitely up with this guy. No one should have so much insight into his personal life, much less a complete stranger.

Part of him was quite captivated by the offer and suggestion made against the informant, though the rational part of his mind recognized the familiarity of the situation at hand. A stranger offered him help in ridding Masaomi of a problem, in this case the Izaya, only to destroy him later; a few years ago, Masaomi was offered help to dispose of a problem, then, the Blue Squares…The person who offered that assistance turned into a new problem.

With a snort at the sheer coincidence of things, the boy kept wandering with no destination in mind, noticing the clouds hanging ominously above and promising a downpour soon. He sighed suddenly. Why did things always have to be so complicated when it came to his relationships with those close to him? It was beginning to seem as though he was unable to catch a break, whether with his girlfriend or even just with his best friend.

Back when he had first moved to Ikebukuro, Masaomi felt so isolated it strained the timid friendships he _had_ managed to establish…The Yellow Scarves changed that, if only temporarily, and he'd felt like people had his back. However, all those ties he made were unravelled and proven to be weak when his gang so easily replaced him with Horada during the hostilities with the Dollars. A part of him knew he was deliberately twisting facts, but that part of him went entirely ignored in favour of worsening his depression. 'Misery likes company,' the wryly amused thought popped into his head.

He didn't even want to _think_ of all the dysfunction he had gone through with Saki; the blonde loved her, but he knew her strange worship or infatuation or whatever she considered it to be with Izaya was still present to some degree, no matter how many times the girl denied it.

His relationship with Mikado had finally balanced itself back out to how it should be after all the gory issues of the Dollars and Yellow Scarves had come to the surface, and now Izaya was poisoning that connection as well. Masaomi didn't think it was fair; couldn't he just have this _one_ thing going smoothly in his life? One person to be a genuine friend to him and not have to worry about ulterior motives? Apparently not, judging from the lip-lock he'd witnessed earlier, and which Mikado had made no real effort to deny.

In the distance, the clouds signalled the teen's earlier weather prediction to be correct as thunder rolled. Masaomi sighed again—he had been so wrapped up in his thoughts he hadn't even realized he'd strayed too far from his apartment to possibly make it back before the rain started. What _else_ was going to go wrong?

The boy jolted as his cell phone sounded off again. The caller ID screen displayed Mikado's name, which immediately made the blonde wary.

"Hello?" Masaomi greeted the other teen warily. He was regretting answering the call at all. Now he felt extremely awkward after the confrontational conversation earlier.

"Masaomi, I-I…I'm really sorry I didn't tell you what was going on. I know I should have, but I know how weird it would have made things, and after everything that happened with the gangs and Saika and everything, I just couldn't! I don't want you to be mad at me, because you're my best friend, and I'm not even completely sure what I'm doing, and-and I'm just…sorry."

The Scarves' leader grinned at the words, mostly because of the hilarity of the ending; pretty much everything Mikado had said after his name was mushed together and hardly coherent; Mikado tended to ramble when frustrated. Basically, whatever was going on between Izaya and Mikado wasn't something the older man had complete control over, which was a relief to the blonde, but also...Mikado had called him back just to try to explain and to apologize for not telling him.

"It's okay, Mikado, honestly. It's just…I don't want things spiralling out of control like they did last time we kept secrets."

There was a pause before the other teen answered, "I know, I don't either…but Masaomi, we need to talk—about the game."

The blonde boy sighed for probably the hundredth time in the past few hours. While he felt relief at the first part, he was exasperated by his friend's insistence on going back to the issue of the game. "Mikado, we've been over this. It was just a stupid game from the Net. Nothing to wor—"

Mikado interrupted him surprisingly harshly, "No! Masaomi, listen to me—it's _NOT_ 'just a game'! The Midnight Man is _real_ and it's after us…!"

Mikado enunciated each syllable of the last sentence, trying to get the point through to his sceptic friend. Much to his disdain, he heard a snort of laughter from Masaomi's end of the phone.

"Mikado, c'mon! You really believe in that thing?"

"Yes," the blue eyed teen practically hissed into the phone, frustrated. "It's been in my apartment and gone after Izaya, Kadota, and everyone! It _attacked_ them, Masaomi! This is serious."

Well, the words definitely caught Masaomi's attention. "You're serious?" Though he knew Mikado wouldn't be so adamant about this otherwise, the teen felt a sick pang of intrigue at the fact that Izaya had been attacked…The stranger who had been plaguing him this afternoon…

Izaya & Mikado

Mikado rolled onto his left side with a huff of frustration as he attempted to get some sleep. Izaya seemed to think it would be safe enough to sleep, at least for a little while; the Midnight Man was most likely recovering from its encounter with Celty.

The teen thought back to the 'meeting', for lack of a more appropriate term, earlier at the Dullahan's apartment. The gathering could hardly be construed as constructive once the van crew and Masaomi showed up (the blonde took quite a bit of coaxing), as everything turned into unconstructive chaos. The black haired teen had hoped that, with more perspectives on the situation, they could all devise something to help them _out _of their current plight.

Erika and Walker didn't seem perturbed after the Taker's mental torture. The pair held happy expressions, though their smiles seemed increasingly maniacal as they murmured to one another about various methods to exact vengeance; dissection, removing the skin, using a red-hot poker on its multitudes of eyes…The boy shook his head a bit as he remembered their discussion of a very idiosyncratic use of a can opener, trying not to rehash what he was able to overhear of their conversation. Mikado shuddered. Needless to say, the two had contributed little to finding a solution.

Kadota and Saburou had spent the majority of the time trying to keep the two otakus on point—and failing miserably.

Izaya seemed to revel in the discord, merely watching the entire bunch with amused eyes.

And as much as he hated to admit it, Mikado still didn't know Masaomi's take on things; the blonde had been so equivocal earlier. His friend hadn't said much, though he asked a few questions about the attacks on Kadota and company and what the Midnight Man looked like, which the blue-eyed teen found oddly specific. Of course, the answer came out to it looking like anything which could look black. Mikado couldn't figure out why that detail bothered him, but frankly, the though had been swimming about his mind for hours, periodically returning to the forefront of his concentration. The only conclusion he could come to was that, as Izaya suspected, Masaomi _had_ been attacked, but his fear wasn't as physically tangible as the others', so he was trying to figure out if he had indeed encountered him.

Mikado was willing to attribute the last bit of musing about Masaomi to his lack of sleep at this point, though this reasoning did nothing to subdue the worry creeping into his thoughts.


	10. Soul Severing

Soul Severing

Izaya noisily shifted the pieces around again on his game board, much to Namie's disdain. Ignoring his disgruntled secretary's icy glare, the informant finally decided that, for the time being, all his pieces were in adequate positions. The man was slightly annoyed at things; he usually never had much of a problem putting his pieces into play, but the situation was drifting farther from his realm of control than he preferred, and as such, it was difficult to judge where each player best fit. The possibilities were endless.

His calculating gaze narrowed at the Black King chess piece he had towards the middle in the left half of the board—the Midnight Man. It seemed a fitting piece for the monster, as it was of importance, and if the King fell, then there was likely no need to worry about its underlings, and the game would end.

His attention drifted to the keima piece situated towards the right side of the board. It had taken him a great deal of thinking to settle on the decision to use that particular piece—in fact, he had just changed the piece earlier today. Previously, he had been using the ginshou piece for Mikado, because it wasn't able to directly retreat, though it was able to move backwards diagonally—protecting itself if necessary.

Izaya had changed the piece to the keima because it was able to _jump_; that is, it passed over any intervening piece—whether friend or foe—without an effect on either. It seemed so fitting for the boy, considering the twist the Midnight Man was throwing into the already complicated ordeal. Auburn eyes now turned their attention to the hisha piece situated near the Black King on the board; it was Masaomi's piece. The hisha was another piece he had only changed today; originally he had just given the other Midnight Game players white Go stones as their assigned pieces.

The abrupt change in Masaomi's attitude between phone calls with Mikado was suspicious enough, and coupled with the fact that the blonde knew about the now-not-so-professional relationship between him and Mikado and the teen's own behaviour at the meeting were enough for Izaya to conclude Masaomi had caught the Midnight Man's attention…Therefore, Izaya was forced to give Masaomi the hisha piece, which was able to move in all orthogonal directions; move forward towards the Black King; retreat towards the keima if it so chose; and, of course, flounder about, only moving right or left—holding its ground in its indecision.

"I haven't seen you put this much thought into that stupid game in a while. I believe the last time was when you set it on fire. If you're going to do something else crazy with it, don't expect me to clean up the ashes," Namie quipped, interrupting her boss from his thoughts. It worried her to see Izaya with such a serious countenance. The man smiled and laughed when he was talking about his plans for the gang war in the past; it worried Namie to think of the magnitude of events unfolding to cause a _serious_ expression.

Izaya smirked at the woman; her expression seemed to have lost its frosty edge. "Worried, Namie? I can't destroy this game board yet, you see. The rules and circumstances in this one are ever-changing." Izaya sighed and looked back at the board before adding quietly, "Besides, who knows if there will even be any ashes to pick up…We don't know which pieces are going to burn yet."

Mikado & Izaya

_"Tell me…Are…Are you scared of being all alone?"_

_"Haha, what? I'm not alone! I have you, Masaomi."_

_The blonde looked at the girl in front of him and smiled. He loved Saki; she always made him feel so much lighter. That was actually a pretty accurate description; lighter, the weight he felt on his chest eased and he was able to breathe again._

_Masaomi heard his girlfriend release a contented sigh before she looked up at him again, "Besides, I have Izaya, too."_

_The weight returned with suddenness and his breath was forced from his lungs; the loss of air burned his throat. Statements like that made him feel so defeated; no matter what the boy did, Saki always held the 'ideal' of Izaya pretty high on her priority list, despite claiming to not listen to him anymore. Masaomi swallowed, though his burning oesophagus made it difficult. "If he asked you to go back to him, would you?" The answer scared him—if she said no, the blonde felt it to not be truthful, and if she said yes…that was even worse._

_Her answer was always the same, though. "I chose you, Masaomi. He wouldn't ask me back! But it doesn't mean he isn't still important to me."_

_He cringed inwardly and looked at his shoes._

_The teen jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, then looked up, expecting to see Saki, but she was no where to be seen; the hand resting on his belonged to someone standing behind him and it bore an all too familiar ring. The blonde roughly shoved the extremity away and spun around with a scowl._

_"Heh, it _really _bothers you, doesn't it? You know you never would have even met her if it wasn't for me. Don't you think you should be a little more grateful?" the sickeningly sweet, sing-song voice said._

_Masaomi mustered every bit of his deep hatred for the man into one stare, but Izaya seemed unaffected by the blonde's malice._

_"I wonder which bothers you more," Izaya continued, moving to walk around the boy in circles, "That Saki is loyal to me as a pawn or that Mikado is loyal to me, though it's in a _drastically _different way…"_

_Gritting his teeth, the teen ground out, "You soulless bastard! You're not God, no matter how much you'd like to think yourself to be; you're just a sadist with a complex, and Mikado is NOT loyal to you."_

_The black haired man quirked an eyebrow at the statement, then grinned maniacally before leaning over so he was face to face with the teen. "And where, pray tell, does his loyalty lie? With _you_?" The man was met with silence from Masaomi. The blonde watched as Izaya stepped back from him and looked him over with narrowed eyes._

_After a pause, Izaya giggled at the boy, "What, no smart remarks? Is that because you know how laughable the concept is?"_

Izaya & Mikado

Izaya snapped his phone shut and grinned. Everything was coming together at last; now that he had received information from his awaited contact, he just had to get the ball rolling, then sit back while everyone else fell into their inevitable roles.

"Namie, you can go home for the night, I have something I need to attend to," he said without looking at her, smirk still in place as he looked out the panoramic window. That monster had better enjoy slinking around _his_ city while it could…a checkmate in Izaya's favour was imminent now.

The secretary peered at her boss over a stack of files; now she was certain something momentous was going to occur with the way Izaya was smiling, carousing in whatever chaos he had set in motion. The man definitely had a screw or two loose.

Mikado & Izaya

Mikado yawned yet again; he had never fallen asleep earlier when he was able to, and now that the sun had set, he had run out of time for any attempts to do so. The blue eyed boy looked over at his blonde friend, a bit envious of how well-rested Masaomi seemed, though he was more relieved the blonde wasn't going to be off somewhere alone and potentially victimized.

Since the normally rambunctious teen had arrived at Mikado's shoddy apartment, though, thick silence had expounded their typically carefree, comfortable dynamic. The teen heaved a sigh, drawing the blonde's attention to him, so he said, "I can tell you're mad about…this, even though you said you weren't, earlier."

Masaomi paused before responding, watching Mikado fidget, "It's not my business who you…are involved with. It's just surprising…I mean, what happened to you and Anri? Who is it you're loyal to?"

"I…Um…I think we both know anything with Anri wouldn't have turned out well if anything happened i-in the first place," Mikado mumbled looking at his twitchy hands; this was so awkward. Also, what was his friend asking about when he said 'loyalty'? Then it occurred to him what the problem was, so he sighed and said, "As for any loyalty, _nothing_ will change my friendship with you and Anri. I'm not going to play games which would pit us against each other, or you and Izaya against each other, either. Anyway...I guess just me saying it is a bit hard to believe, but...it's true."

Both boys jumped when they heard a soft click sound from behind them; Mikado turned around nervously, remembering how he locked the door earlier. Blue eyes met with a very smug-looking informant standing against the door; of course Izaya had picked the lock…again. And had probably heard what he'd said.

"Good answer," Izaya smirked at Mikado, revealing that he'd actually heard the question to go with it, too. "Masaomi, nice to see you again so soon," the man then remarked with a wider smirk. For his purposes, it just made the upcoming events even more interesting, maybe even speeding along his 'checkmate'. The blonde teen merely scowled in response, so the informant ignored it and turned his attention back to the other boy. "I need to talk to you about something, Mikado. I finally received some useful information, and I think our issue with the Takers will be resolved soon."

Mikado felt himself mentally twisting—something was off, there, something he couldn't put his finger on. Izaya's demeanour was too fervent, expectant even; the man was practically impossible to read, but the teen couldn't overlook the fact that the happy façade—while still happy—was alluding to the deviance and lunacy prowling beneath.

Trying to keep his voice even, Mikado looked at the other innocently, "Okay, so what is our next move?" The man crossed the small room far too slowly for Mikado's taste, but didn't reply. "I-Izaya," the teen said nervously as he stood up, "What's going on?"

The informant sighed but continued to smile, "I'm really starting to believe those fainting spells _have _affected you; do you not remember our previous conversation about this?"

"I…" the younger male started, but paused with a confused expression, trying to remember.

The older man slipped his arm around Mikado's shoulder and said quietly, "I can't tell you yet, remember? Tsk, Mikado, I expected your mind to be a bit sharper than that." Izaya could hardly mask his anticipation at this point, despite his usual patience.

"Then what was the point of coming here and announcing this new information?" the teen wondered aloud.

Mikado jolted as he felt a sharp sting in his upper arm. He looked to the source of the sensation as Izaya withdrew his arm. The edges of the room blurred and his body felt heavy yet light simultaneously. It took a moment for it to register within his scattered thoughts that the informant was holding a syringe. And it took even longer for him to realize he'd been drugged with something really, really strong and fast-acting.

"W-what?" Mikado stuttered with great effort, his own voice sounding strange.

"What the Hell are you doing!?" Masaomi exclaimed, utterly confused by the scene in front of him.

Izaya stayed quiet for a moment as he tossed the now empty needle aside, then gazed at Mikado and said with a light smile, "You said you trusted me 'to a certain extent.' I just hope this is within your limits." He paused, watching the boy sway, so grabbed the non-punctured arm to steady him. "You might want to sit down—that stuff won't knock you out, but I heard it makes one feel quite drunk; not very pleasant to say the least."

"Y-You _drugged_ him!" Masaomi didn't know what Izaya was up to, but the fact he dosed Mikado with something could not lead to anything good. He was already rising, intending to pull Mikado away from that psycho—but a metallic glint made him freeze as Izaya sent him a look which clearly said, 'if you interfere, someone's going to get hurt.'

Mikado then watched the walls climb higher and blinked against the harsh lights; were they always so bright? It was then he realized his body was very numb, hence the heavy sensation, yet it felt light because he couldn't feel anything else outside of his own skin. "'Zaya?"

Izaya chuckled; it had certainly worked quicker than expected, and Mikado was already slurring. He lowered the boy to sit on the floor, then moved the arm he was still grasping to quickly roll the sleeve up. Again, Masaomi made a move to reach for the other teen, but was halted again by the glint of metal entirely too close to his friend.

"Uh-uh, Masaomi, you wouldn't want to do something rash. I need him to stay still, obviously, and if you pull him away, I might slip, and that would be no good," Izaya deliberately flashed his switch-blade as he spoke slowly and calmly as if lecturing a petulant child. Though, he had to admit the comparison wasn't terribly far from the truth, given the blonde's rather dense mind. To his amusement (and partial relief, though he would never admit it), Masaomi sat down hard and just stared at the two.

Turning his mind away from his thoughts about Masaomi, Izaya made sure to keep a firm grip on Mikado's wrist as lowered the blade to the back of the boy's pale hand. He paused a moment before actually piercing the skin, then looked back up to meet heavily-lidded, hazy blue eyes. "You shouldn't really feel this, but don't move, okay?"

Mikado managed to mumble an affirmation of some sort, and despite being so numb, he winced when he saw the sharp edge of the blade break his skin and crimson rushed to the surface. It was surreal to see what he was seeing, but to feel no pain; regardless, just the concept alone was enough to make him wince, something like when a male watched another male take a blow to the—lower regions, and couldn't help but wince along with the man. The boy blinked slowly, feeling like he couldn't open his eyes up completely. He watched blankly as the affliction formed what looking like a plus sign, then Izaya sliced a perfectly straight 'X' across the plus sign, similar to a crude asterisk.

"What _is_ this? Why are you cutting his hand?" Masaomi questioned in a wavering voice, fingering the phone in his pocket as he tried to figure out what to do; there had to be something other than sitting there on the floor. He didn't want to chance anything with Izaya holding a knife so close to Mikado, though…It was just too dangerous...

"Hmm?" Izaya questioned, distracted, as he slowly made a small circle around the point where the lines connected. "The mark...? We have to do something to get rid of the Midnight Man. This is a step in the right direction of accomplishing just that."

The blonde stayed silent and watched with wide eyes as the other dragged the blade around the design to form an inverted triangle; all the lines were straight and touched perfectly; it was quite an impressive feat, considering the 'canvas' was curved.

"Go ahead and use the phone you've been messing with. In fact, call Celty—the Headless Rider—to pick him up," Izaya smirked as Masaomi glared at him with even more animosity than he usually did, if that was possible. "Or do you not know her phone number, yet? Here, I'll give it to you—she can't talk, so just tell her to come over to retrieve Mikado, and whatever else you'd like to tell her—I don't really care about that part. She'll come, since she's Mikado's friend."

Regardless of how much Masaomi hated Izaya, the teen did as he was told and called the Dullahan with the number the man recited to him, and Izaya didn't bother listening to the one-sided conversation.

"I…Zaya..." Mikado attempted to be coherent, but his mouth was not cooperating with him. When he saw the informant looking at him expectantly, he decided his effort wasn't completely in vain. He wanted to ask why his hand had been sliced up, but instead, his thoughts strayed to what Izaya had said to Masaomi about Celty picking him up. In his muddled mind, in midst of those thoughts, he instead said, "Don' leave…please don'…leave me."

Both Izaya's and Masaomi's eyes widened in surprise at the words, the blonde teen's much more than the black haired man's.

To Mikado, it seemed the lights kept getting brighter and the room was further stretched and distorted, making it difficult for him to look at one spot for more than a few seconds; was he high? He quickly decided that, if he was, it felt awful. "Feels…weird," he murmured as he felt an irritating prickling sensation spread through his head and reached his undamaged hand out for something to steady himself on, despite already being seated on the ground. The boy's hand fisted in the front of Izaya's jacket as the man looked on at Mikado in his dazed state.

"It shouldn't last too much longer," he said quietly. Izaya watched intently as Mikado moved closer to him until there was almost no distance at all between them.

It was so cold, and it felt like the temperature in the room was plummeting rapidly, prompting Mikado to start talking again. "S-so cold…Don' leave…You're…s-so warm," Mikado slurred as he pressed closer to the other body, burying his face against Izaya's shoulder as he felt arms wrap around his waist. The the drugged teen, despite the cold, it was like he was suddenly floating on air.

Izaya grinned lightly at the teen's intoxicated display, revelling in Masaomi's open-mouthed shock at the sight. "I'm not going anywhere, Mikado. You are."

The azure eyed teen tried to ask what Izaya meant, but he was suddenly distracted by the lightness he felt; the burden of his own body didn't seem to be weighing him down like before, and his thoughts were coming across with much more clarity. He opened his eyes, wondering when he had closed them—and then felt panic rake across every part of his being.

He was staring out at the expanse of West Gate Park.

No, this was…bad. Mikado's breathing became uneven as he saw the children playing in the park…One child sliding down the slide with an impossibly sluggish momentum, one practically suspended in the air as they jumped off the swing, unable to move at the normal speed gravity demanded to return to the ground. Everything in slow motion.

_The other realm._

Izaya & Mikado

Izaya looked at Mikado's sleeping form haphazardly sprawled out on Shinra's couch. The informant sighed, trying to ignore the furore in the doctor's living area, directed at him, of course. Masaomi's form of justice for Izaya's 'stunt', as the blonde had called it, was sicking a worried Dullahan and the van crew on him after Shinra was unable to wake Mikado up. Now he was stuck having to listen to everyone speak _at_—not _to_—him. Though, the other side effect was that he had no choice but to stay at Mikado's side, as the teen had requested, or the others would pounce on him.

His attention was called back to the room when a small PDA screen forced its way into his field of vision, impeding Izaya's view of the teen, [Why won't Mikado wake up? What did you do, Izaya?]

The man heaved a dramatic sigh and spoke to the Dullahan in a bored tone, "I'm biding us time. I thought it would be obvious to _you_, at least, Celty." Finally, the room's inhabitants settled down a bit. Izaya made it a point to be as nonchalant as possible towards this situation; it would probably accelerate his game along even quicker than his antics earlier.

"What do you mean, bide time? It looks like you just helped the Midnight Man by taking out one of your own team," Erika huffed from her seated position next to Walker, both on the floor.

"That mark I cut into Mikado's hand forced his soul out of his body and into the other realm. If his soul is in the other realm, it can't be stolen by the Midnight Man; since the Midnight Man has made Mikado's soul priority number one due to his rule-breaking during the game, it won't come after us without Mikado. Ergo, we're safe to find a more permanent solution," the informant explained in a flat voice while examining his nails.

"But what about Mikado? His soul is just—just _stuck_ somewhere else?" Masaomi sputtered, horrified.

Izaya paused and put on a thoughtful face. "I wouldn't say _stuck_, exactly, but it's just until we figure out a way to kill the Midnight Man."

"How is his soul going to get back?" Walker asked, genuinely curious.

The informant grinned lightly, "Well, there's the tricky part. It has to find its way back on its own so…" Izaya purposely trailed off, waiting for the reaction he knew was inevitable.

"WHAT! So you forced his soul out of his body _knowing_ there was a chance it might not come back?" Masaomi exclaimed, absolutely seething.

It took great effort to keep his mask in place and not laugh, as he desperately wanted to, at the teen's outrage. "Come on, Masaomi, Mikado is a smart kid. He can manage it." Izaya really couldn't help egging on the gang leader's anger; it was so entertaining, despite being so predictable.

The blonde shook his head angrily. "I knew it, I knew you were just using him."

Mikado & Izaya

Mikado walked around the eerie, slow version of West Gate Park and sighed. He had time to think about his situation since he found himself here; whatever Izaya had done had sent him here. What troubled the boy was that he was scared. He hadn't the slightest inkling how to get back to the normal Ikebukuro; the last time he had been in the other realm, Izaya had woken him up, and Mikado was certain a repeat of last time wouldn't be happening again anytime soon. Another fear he wasn't readily acknowledging was that the Takers had easy access to him here; even if they couldn't take his soul, Mikado was thinking the probability they could still harm him was fairly high.

Also, the Dollars' leader had pieced together the ulterior motives of his being sent here—time. He guessed Izaya's plan was to use Mikado's presence in the other realm to distract the Takers or just relied on the Midnight Man's fixation on Mikado, hoping he wouldn't come after them without getting the boy's soul first. Was there another reason, as well, or just to buy time? He couldn't blame the older man for it, really—like Mikado, Izaya was a plotter, and generally, defeating the enemy took priority over the players' safety, even though Mikado tried hard to balance the two. Izaya, however, wasn't so kind or considerate.

It bothered him; subconsciously as he walked, the teen kept wringing his hands. It bothered Mikado to not have _some_ control over the situation; he was going to have to rely on someone to get him out of the other realm, since he had no idea how to do so himself…If the other realm was how the Takers viewed the human world, then walking around wouldn't really get him anywhere, it would be just like walking around the city.

"Izaya, you better get me out of here," Mikado murmured to himself. Mentally, he was disappointed in himself for not keeping his guard up, for getting so attached to the informant in the first place. It was disgraceful, he mentally berated himself; Izaya had blatantly ignored Mikado's request and forced himself into the entire mess, taunted and purposely flustered the teen repeatedly, drugged him, trapped him in the other realm...

And to his chagrin, Mikado still liked him.

Izaya & Mikado

Masaomi exhaled harshly in frustration, feeling so helpless. The blonde had defected from the group in the living room, mainly to get away from a certain sadistic information broker, and was currently leaning against the sink in the bathroom.

"Is…_something_…you…can do…"

The teen looked up into the mirror, not entirely surprised to see a black, shapeless mass behind him in the reflection. "And what would that be?" he asked it.

"…One thing for me…then…you…don't have to…do anything. I can…bring…Mikado...back…"

Mikado & Izaya

Mikado glanced around this strange version of the city as he felt a chill rip through the irritatingly calm atmosphere. He had been anticipating some terrible confrontation for hours; however, after standing frozen for a few minutes, nothing had happened.

The teen blinked and looked around suddenly in surprise. What was going on? The slow version of Ikebukuro seemed to be changing; everything was fading to varying shades of white and gray, _all_ motion ceased completely, and everything appeared hazy. He desperately hoped he wasn't about to pass out again. Mikado blinked a few times, yet the scene remained the same, a monochromatic wasteland of sorts. His heart was beating erratically, and he knew something was about to occur.


	11. Bleeding Souls

Bleeding Souls

Izaya looked back at Mikado, sighing yet again. It had been over 24 hours since he had driven the boy's soul from his body; the informant was getting impatient, since something else should have happened by then. He was loath to admit it, but it made him slightly apprehensive to have the soul separated from its physical shell for too long, a feeling he was unaccustomed to. Suddenly, he didn't _want_ to leave Mikado's side until the boy woke up, and the sensation was something he had to puzzle over.

On a whim, the black haired man traced a ringed finger along the side of the teen's face; Mikado felt like ice, his body temperature was impossibly low. Auburn eyes remained fixed on the boy's face; there was no sign of discomfort like he had seen when Mikado was being victimized in the other realm the first time around. It didn't seem like a good idea for Mikado's soul to be gone too much longer if things like this were occurring. The possible medical ramification most likely would be unpleasant—if there were any. Something told him there would be, however, if the teen stayed away from his body for too much longer.

Masaomi watched the informant with Mikado from the threshold which separated the living area and the kitchen. Izaya either hadn't seen him or wasn't bothered by the teen's presence. The blonde felt a pang of anxiety as he watched the pair, however. If Masaomi had seen such a display from anyone other than Izaya, he would call it intimate; however, that was not the case. He watched the older male's blank expression with curiosity. Izaya rarely had a serious face, usually opting for that damned smirk which was the pinnacle of condescendence; therefore, an expression so void was odd and out of place.

These small details were only exacerbating the blonde's anxiousness; what if, by some impossibly small chance, Izaya actually _did_ like Mikado? But, if he did, then why trap his soul somewhere? The Yellow Scarves' leader watched the couple a little longer, trying to ponder just how genuine the dynamics were that he was witnessing. Izaya had returned to visit the unconscious teen periodically since Mikado had been brought to Shinra and Celty's apartment; or rather, he had barely left, and had usually gone and returned quickly with Celty. That seemed genuine—though Masaomi wasn't sure if it was concern or curiosity bringing the man back.

"How long are you going to stand over there? I always had a hunch you were a bit of a voyeur, Masaomi," Izaya smirked, watching the teen scowl in response from the corner of his eye.

"Whatever," the blonde huffed. He looked back at the couch; the informant had returned his focus back to the younger, unconscious teen. Masaomi sighed; he couldn't decide if the uneasiness he felt was derived from guilt or anger. Beginning to lean more towards the former, he looked back at Izaya. "I'm getting something to drink, you want anything? You've been here for a while…"

"Sure," the informant murmured. He was going to tease Masaomi over his peace offering and poor attempt to ease his guilt—when Mikado seemed to twitch.

Mikado & Izaya

Mikado wondered how, even in this astral form, he was a terribly slow—and now winded—runner. Shortly after the city had taken on its new colorless manifestation, the teen grew restless and began to wander the silent, monochrome streets. In midst of his aimless roaming, Mikado noticed the shadows growing larger and darker, shifting from gray to black. He ran without question, trying to think of somewhere which might be a safe haven in midst of this enemy territory. Against his will, his body began to slow; the teen pleaded with his tired muscles to continue on as he heard voices behind him pick up.

A glance over his shoulder revealed an increasing number of deformed black masses sprouting ugly, obtusely angled limbs. Mikado faced forward again; the last thing he wanted to do was trip and be captured like he had seen happen in every cliché horror movie. Randomly, he turned down the next street, then chanced another look behind him to see that the monsters had yet to round the corner, though he could still hear them.

He was sure they would easily find him, if not by some supernatural means then they would most likely be able to hear the boy's ragged breathing and heart beating wildly against his ribs. Mikado gasped as he ran, knowing he really couldn't keep it up much longer; he needed to think of _something_.

Suddenly, he felt something cold wrap around his wrist and pull him backwards. The action combined with Mikado's momentum in the opposite direction practically jerked his arm out of its socket.

Mikado felt a terrible sensation of vertigo as his body was yanked in another direction, successfully spinning him around. He then felt surrounded by something slightly warm and soft. The teen moved his hands up to push whatever it was away from him, when he felt fabric. He was honestly expecting the Midnight Man or one of the other Takers to have been what grabbed him, so the clothing detail confused him. The embrace loosened slightly, allowing Mikado to use his waning strength to push away marginally and look at what had grabbed him.

The teen was panting as he looked up, feeling like he was going to collapse after all the sprinting he had just done. His uneven breathing hitched as he looked up into a familiar pair of auburn eyes. Mikado was about to speak when he felt a cold hand over his mouth and watched as Izaya put a finger to his own lips, motioning for silence. The younger male understood why as he heard the demented voices getting closer, growing louder. He then realized he and Izaya were in an alley off the street he had lead the Takers down.

The pair stood still and silent for several minutes, listening to the incomprehensible voices and inhuman growls from the menacing creatures. Mikado subconsciously leaned the majority of his weight against the informant as he was still locked in the position against him anyhow. The teen decided that, should he ever return to school, he would refuse to ever run in gym class again, he felt so nauseous right now. Then he remembered he had no choice in the matter until he graduated from High School and almost groaned out loud.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the monsters withdrew and went to look elsewhere. Mikado felt the arms around him drop—and he immediately stepped away from the other man and glared. It had to be a trick.

The teen watched as the Izaya look-alike tilted his head, studying him. "Well, you certainly don't seem very happy to see me, Mikado. That's kind of disheartening."

"If you think I'll fall for the same trick twice, then I don't know how you've survived so long," Mikado replied with a cold tone. This had to be the Midnight Man messing with him again; Izaya was the one who _sent_ him here, so the informant was back in the human realm.

The faux-informant smirked, "Oh, I forgot you said the Midnight Man took my form last time you were here. I must be more sleep-deprived than I originally thought. We don't have much time to waste here, though, Mikado."

"If you're going to attack, at least don't use a façade," Mikado spat.

The doppelgänger heaved a sigh. "It's really me, and we _really _shouldn't waste any more time than necessary. I mean, I saved you didn't I? If I was the Midnight Man, I would consider that to be a tad counterproductive, don't you think?"

Mikado glowered at the other before turning on his heels and exiting the alleyway. Much to his disdain, the copy followed him.

"Come on, Mikado," the teen heard the other male say as he followed the angry teen. "I can prove it's really me."

"How?" he replied in a sarcastic voice.

"Come on, I can show you. Follow me."

"Follow you where?" the teen asked sceptically. Mikado paused, glaring at the other supposed human man; it was completely improbable this was the real Izaya. The cautious teen watched with cold, blue eyes as the older male walked back toward him, then took his wrist and gently tugged it in the direction he wanted to go.

Despite all his instincts screaming at him to flee, his mind urged Mikado to comply with the monster. He wasn't compelled to comply due to fear or anything of that sort; it was simply strategic. If this was the Midnight Man and the creature was going to all the trouble of putting up such an elaborate guise, just for the purpose of getting the teen to follow, then he must be leading Mikado somewhere significant. The boy was certain that, even if it was a trap, it would be a more enlightening experience than uselessly wandering around the city.

After walking for a ways, Mikado felt them stop in front of a building. He recognized it as the building which contained Shinra and Celty's apartment. "Why are we here?"

The fake Izaya hummed for a moment, not bothering to answer as he continued to pull the Dollars' leader up the stairs, knowing the elevator would be a completely fruitless endeavour with time frozen as it was.

The pair entered the frozen apartment and Mikado glanced expectantly at the fiend, still puzzled by their location. "Well, where's your proof? Or are you finally ready to drop the charade and carry out whatever grand scheme you have for me?"

Mikado spoke with revulsion heavily lacing his tone. The copy-informant merely smirked and gestured to the living area of the apartment, so Mikado looked around apprehensively; so far, there were no other Takers there, which was a good sign, though the situation was still too volatile for him the relax.

Finally, his eyes settled on the two figures in the room; frozen because they were being reflected through the veil from the human realm. Unnerved, Mikado looked back at Izaya, who merely returned the boy's gaze patiently as the boy sorted out what must have happened to have caused the scene before him...

Izaya & Mikado

_Izaya blinked several times, though it did nothing to aid the situation; rather, it only served to make the urge to close his eyes stronger. He leaned forward, auburn eyes gracing the innocent-looking glass of water on the coffee table. The man's head was reeling; the drink was dosed, apparently, with some fast-acting drug, probably one meant to induce sleep. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he actively realized it was sleeping pills, probably Shinra's strongest on hand, which had been placed in the beverage. He giggled, fingering the knife in his pocket; of course, Masaomi's goal was to essentially make him into a sitting duck—a defenceless target for the Midnight Man._

_His vision was starting to split itself into seeing double of everything, so the informant blinked and watched the double Masaomi turn around and stroll into the kitchen. Izaya attempted to straighten himself and rolled up his sleeve as he drew the blade out of his pocket. He had to steady himself, at least long enough for this, and hoped the way of doing it would help._

_Pain, fiery, white hot pain shot through his arm as the skin was broken. Hopefully, the lines would be clean despite the fact that the muscles in his hand were feeling lax and his sight was blurring..._

Mikado & Izaya

"…His soul…missing…What did you...do?"

"All I did was spike his water with something to knock him out, I swear nothing else!" Masaomi said defensively. He didn't understand, either; how the Hell could someone's _soul_ just disappear? The blonde nervously glanced back at the deformed mass looming next to the modern couch. He jumped as the creature released a vile, visceral hiss.

"…Sent his…soul!...pay…re…venge…need…mine…MINE…" The Taker spoke so rapidly it was barely understandable to the teen.

Masaomi took a few steps back as the shadows surrounding the monster spread and rose, like smoke. Its voices grew louder and more vicious, though before Masaomi could blink, all was quiet and the Midnight Man had dissipated.

Izaya & Mikado

Mikado looked from the informant back to the scene in the living area; Masaomi was standing in the doorway to the kitchen and Izaya appeared to be slumped on the couch, almost sprawled on Mikado's own body, unconscious.

Noting the confused expression on Mikado's face, Izaya stepped around the boy towards his sleeping copy. It was so strange to look at oneself while having a literal out of body experience; the absurdity of such an occurrence was enough to make him want to laugh. For the sake of keeping Mikado's attention, Izaya refrained from doing so and pulled back his physical body's sleeve.

Comprehension accompanied with relief washed over the boy as he stared at the same mark on Izaya's arm which the informant had carved into the back of the teen's hand. Izaya had sent his own soul to the other realm as well.

"Apparently, Masaomi was _very_ angry I sent your soul here, so he tried to hand me over to the Midnight Man in the hopes that it would bring you back, not realizing, of course, that the monster would never give you up," Izaya grinned. "He always was so predictable, though…"

Mikado shook his head slightly in something like amusement as he walked over to the older male; as always, Izaya had accounted for everything. He looked up at the informant, noting they were standing very close at that point. Mikado leaned up slightly, his mouth hovering directly in front of the other's. "So, this begs the question of how we're supposed to get out of this place if we're _both_ trapped here."

Izaya was quite aware of the lack of distance between the teen and himself, probably more aware of it than necessary. "Now you're just using circular reasoning, Mikado. Haven't we already gone over this whole 'trust' matter? You never struck me as much of a tease—I have to say, I'm surprised." He spoke with a smile dancing across his lips as the teen continued to linger so very close, lips practically ghosting over one another.

Mikado smiled lightly at the concept, it was strange to think that at the moment, it was _exactly_ what he was doing, teasing. He was drawn from his musing when he realized their lips had connected; Mikado wasn't sure which of them exactly had caused the action, though he wasn't going to go against it. The teen pressed back fervently, and after a bit more of enjoying the more chaste kiss, he was so bold as to open his mouth slightly. Regardless of how enthralled he was with the ministrations, he could feel a hot blush creeping across his face; he had no idea what he was doing at this point due to his inexperience. The one thing Mikado had realized, however, was how the kiss he was experiencing _felt_ the same as the way Izaya had kissed him before, a thought which helped reassure him this man was the real information broker.

The informant didn't seem to mind the boy's innocence as he seizing the opportunity Mikado had presented him with, though not too quickly, as he was wanting to aggravate the teen slightly. It was more fun like that, anyway. He felt the boy shiver against him as he coaxed the other's tongue into play for some time, using his own to slowly teach Mikado's.

Each pulled away, but not far, as their mouths parted from one another. Their breaths mingled together due to their physical closeness, though this left each to wonder how deep this went beyond the physicality and infatuation. With no sound foundation to build upon, how long before it, too, collapsed?

"I-I guess I don't have much choice in the matter…but to trust you," Mikado stuttered out, still breathless as his mind whirred from the electric sensations still lingering.

Izaya's eyes met Mikado's, and he was easily able to see all the emotions present amidst the deep azure; longing, happiness, discomfiture…all the naivety which was love. His pulse quickened—he tried to convince himself it was solely due to everything reaching an apex of sorts in terms of his plan thus far; it was exhilarating, to say the least.

Behind the boy, he caught sight of movement. Perfect. Several meters behind Mikado, a dark blemish manifested; it was a sharp contrast to the grey-scale the living area had taken on. Izaya smiled lightly and kept his gaze focused on the teen's cerulean eyes, though his centre of concentration remained on the murkiness forming in his peripherals.

"I guess you're right, you really don't have a choice."

The informant revelled in the jittery sensation accompanied by the chill ripping down his spine; the Midnight Man was there and oh, so very angry. The blackness had taken on its putrid, haphazard form, spouting gnarled limbs and decrepit faces pushing against the monster's stretched hide; this confrontation would be so interesting, invigorating, _exciting_.

Izaya wasn't so naïve as to delude himself into denial like normal humans; getting rid of this creature had become something of a fixation, one he was fully aware of—not because it posed a threat to his life, but because it thought it had a right to do so. The more his thoughts revolved around the issue of the Taker, the more his repulsion for the Midnight Man grew. The creature thinking it had a right to intervene with humans was ludicrous, its fake deity status was even more so, and it appalled Izaya that the monster was impinging on his territory, _his humans_.

With such a train of thought circumnavigating the forefront of his mind, it drove the adrenaline to dance through his veins at an increasingly rapid pace; his plans were reaching a zenith he had been looking forward to for days now. Electricity roiled through the tense air in the apartment. The informant couldn't resist directly looking at the Midnight Man as he plunged the switch-blade into a vital point on Mikado's stomach.

Abruptly, all the pleasurable electricity the teen had been feeling evaporated and Mikado's eyes widened. He looked down—and couldn't focus on anything aside from the blood pouring from his abdomen. Blood? From a soul? After a few moments, the searing pain finally registered in his brain, even as Izaya slowly pulled his switch-blade out of the teen. Mikado placed his hands over the wound though he knew it was futile; it hadn't even been a minute and his vision was blurring badly. He was going to bleed out. How could Izaya do this to him? And more importantly, _why_?

Was it really Izaya after all? It couldn't be…the informant wouldn't...wouldn't _kill_ him. Maybe the scene of the man unconscious and with the mark on his arm was…an illusion? No, it didn't seem like it…The kiss didn't _feel_ like it…Of course, he had no idea of the Midnight Man behind him, but there was a strange roar starting to fill his ears...

Wispy, smoke-like shadows thickened as they rolled off the misshapen mass of the monster's body; it voiced its presence as garbled whispers amalgamated into a strangled, cacophonic roar. Izaya swore he could feel the guttural din reverberate through the bloodied metal blade still poised in his hand. The Midnight Man's shadows seemed to settle closer to the floor as they swelled and grew in what seemed to be an attempt to encompass the apartment in its entirety.

Izaya momentarily lost his focus, too busy regarding the Midnight Man's changes with a smug derision, when his attention was brought back to the boy swaying in front him. Mikado looked at him, though he appeared to do so with great difficulty; his normally bright eyes had taken on a more indigo hue as the pleading gaze kept slipping sideways in its dizzy state. "Wha…Why did you…?"

Mikado's legs finally gave out as he pressed his hands over the wound, attempting to rectify or at least hold on to his gauzy form of consciousness. He couldn't concentrate on anything aside from the sticky, florid gore cascading and overflowing his hands, and he realized his eyes had closed without his permission. He was confused as to why he had yet to feel the impact of the floor, so forced his eyes open again as a series of shrill, visceral screams rang through the room. Now he knew the Midnight Man was there.

The man glanced at Mikado, who was now draped slovenly against him as he held the teen upright; he took note that the teen was still bleeding heavily as the viscid, sanguine substance continued to fall in thick drops onto the colourless floor. It wouldn't be much longer now at this rate.

Forcing his eyes to stay open as his vision filled with spots, Mikado felt he had to see what was going on; this wasn't something they had experienced with the Takers before. The stodgy blackness rolling off the fiend was giving the apartment the look of a toxic perdition, and as Mikado inhaled it, the air seemed to have taken on an even more acrid quality. The smoky shadows that had settled above the floor substantiated and became a rancid, frothing ink. The Midnight Man and its trapped souls spread into a larger shape, looking even more licentious as the skin stretched thinner; so thin, in fact, that Mikado was sure if it had not been such a dark colour, it would have held a startling translucence.

The unfortunate souls caught inside the Taker could be seen clearly outlined as their flesh prison assuaged its hold; they were screaming, gasping, stretching, clawing, doing anything they could to bring themselves nearer to release. Izaya's eyes widened as he witnessed the filmy casing tear in places, though he couldn't be certain that was what was happening due to the billowing shadows. The darkness at the Taker's command had become increasingly viscous; now cataracts of ink appeared to be coming from the creature. Black, syrupy, oozing putrefaction could be heard hitting the floor heavily in the midst of the unrest inside the Midnight Man's body. Haughtily, the informant considered the anomalous sound with engaging vivacity.

All at once, the monochrome makeover the apartment had adopted through the frozen veil seemed to burst forth with colours, hues resurging with a vengeance and more vivaciousness than they originally were. Mikado felt Izaya's grip tighten; it was so hard to look on at the headache-inducing scene, acidic neon colours fluxing with the fermenting ink exuding from the Midnight Man. Another glance at the beast which had been haunting him for days startled Mikado; instead of seeming overstressed as it had a moment ago, the Midnight Man's body almost looked…swollen. Coagulated darkness obscenely leaking as its body expanded.

Mikado felt all air rush from his lungs as he experienced the unmistakable falling sensation. The horrendously bright pigments bled into the airless atmosphere, making it appear as though he and Izaya were inside some corrosive kaleidoscope. The teen gripped Izaya's sleeve tightly as the plummeting feeling worsened. The azure-eyed boy gasped for air, only to find none; what was going on? He then felt himself make contact with a surface, as though his falling had been halted by finally hitting the ground; though such was not necessarily the case. His eyes had once more slid shut he realized vaguely as he felt the heavy weight of opening them.


	12. Freed Souls

Freed Souls

Fluorescent white lights assaulted his vision as Mikado blinked; he was so vividly aware of the weight of his body it was strange. The boy sat up and realized he was on a now-familiar couch with Izaya almost sprawled on him and also stirring. At the revelation, his hands immediately went to his stomach; there was no blood, no pain, and no wound…He glared at the older male with a mixture of anger at being stabbed and confusion, even as the man sat up straight.

"What just happened?" he had to ask.

Izaya grinned at the boy as he tried to will his eyes to adjust to the lighting, without showing his difficulty. Though, it seemed sending one's soul to the Netherworld fairly negated the effects of drugs on the body, since he hadn't been on the other side long enough for sleeping drugs that strong to wear off.

He still had to reply to Mikado, however, so said, "I'm beginning to think I overestimated you, Mikado. Think about it."

Despite the teasing tone, the comment stung his pride a bit. The teen relaxed slightly, trying to clear his mind as he attempted to absorb the motives behind what had just occurred. He mentally ran through the highlights; Izaya kissed him, Izaya stabbed him, the Midnight Man showed up, the Midnight Man became _seemingly _unstab—

That was it! "You stabbed me to use the connection against it," Mikado stated, actually quite impressed with the concept. He watched Izaya's smirk return full force.

"Yes. Now, did you feel the Taker's pain, or only your own?" the man questioned.

With a quick blink, Mikado thought back—and said, "Only my own."

"Good, then that also eliminates the connection between _you_ and the Midnight Man. Because you had the strongest tie with it, that eliminates the problem of it affecting you; however, we still have the links with the other players to worry about. It's not dead yet; but you have to figure out how to get rid of it completely yourself. I'm not doing all the work for you while you sit back and act helpless. That's so boring, Mikado."

The teen swallowed nervously at the other's rather harsh words. "I-I'm not helpless." Mikado cringed at how pathetically untrue that sounded.

"Prove it," Izaya replied with a completely straight face. "Prove that all the things you've done as leader of the Dollars weren't just flukes or dumb luck."

Mikado knew all his accomplishments as a gang leader weren't just coincidence or chance; it couldn't be. Then he realized Izaya was probably out of ideas, and needed time to formulate more, and more than that, Mikado _had_ been relying on him overly much. With the connection between him and the Midnight Man most likely void now, he'd actually be _free_ to fight the thing. The one now in the most danger—was Izaya.

"I _will_ prove it. Everything I've achieved with the Dollars happened because I forced it to happen." He paused for a moment, and the gaze he held with the other became tense and cold, "Just to be clear, I'm not doing this to prove myself to you, I'm doing it to get rid of my current biggest problem."

Izaya chuckled slightly at the statement. "I never said you were. I'm not saying these things to motivate you into action or anything, Mikado; to be honest, things would be more entertaining if you failed to kill that thing. I'm just saying this because it's what I think about the situation you've created for yourself. I may be a bit disappointed with your performance in this game, though my simply stating so doesn't really change anything unless you _let_ it do so."

Mikado paused momentarily, trying to grasp all the encoding present in Izaya's words; it had to have a double meaning. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but the boy hoped he was correct in thinking Izaya was referring to their relationship as not changing, that this was the informant's way of saying he still liked the teen.

Mikado & Izaya

With a sigh, his stare shifted into a glare of frustration as Mikado continued to skim though the conversation threads he had open on his laptop. The teen had been searching continuously for something concrete from which he could form a plan. He let out an audible groan and rubbed his eyes; he had been at this for a few hours, ever since Izaya had left, and he was still parked on Shinra's couch as the older brunet occasionally looked in on him worriedly.

Mikado arbitrarily slumped forward, resting his chin on his arm, and pulled up the Dollars site to log in. He did so more out of habit rather than having any actual inclination to work with it, but it was best to exhaust _all_ resources at his disposal. The boy straightened slightly as he created a new thread on the message board, but rather than allowing his name to show, he used one of the more obscure functions of the members-only site to post anonymously: _What do you do when you're lost?_

Vague was always the best approach in a chat room or message board, especially when trying to keep your actual identity hidden; don't make yourself identifiable by asking things too specific, or someone was bound to notice. Everyone would know he was still a Dollars member, but no one would know who, and he felt it was best that way at the moment.

He browsed through a few other posts and saw some members of the van crew had been posting their experiences with the Taker—they couldn't be anyone else, since only the van gang could have had such experiences, so he filed those screen names away for later use—though all it seemed to have done was spur rumours. Eventually, after catching himself up on anything pertaining to the Dollars, he navigated back to his anonymous post.

Really, he wasn't expecting much of anything, seeing as how he'd posted as an anonymous member and not the admin, yet much to his surprise, he had gotten quite a few responses. Of course, many people took the question literally, saying to ask for directions and other such silly responses, and a few took it too philosophically and mistook it as a metaphor for life in general; one answer, however, seemed to help:

_Return to familiar landmarks you've already seen and find your way from there. –Nakura_

Mikado didn't know if the person meant it to be literal or not, though it didn't matter; the advice sparked an idea. He quickly closed his laptop and grabbed his phone, now confident enough to move forward with what needed to be done.

Izaya & Mikado

Masaomi rolled over on his side as he heard his phone beep. He felt the knot in his stomach tighten; its presence was something the teen was unable to ignore ever since he had fled the Dullahan's apartment. The blonde couldn't help but grimace as he saw the sender's name above the text message—it was Mikado. After a few moments of pacing and debate, he finally opened the message:

_I know we have a lot we need to talk about, but I need you to know I'm not holding anything against you, and I need your help._

If it was possible, Mikado's loyalty made him feel even lower than he already did. Masaomi replied quickly before setting off towards his best friend's apartment, where the message had said they should meet.

Mikado & Izaya

"So…let me get this straight. Izaya sent himself to the other realm and killed you and…Wait, then how are you still alive?" Erika whined in confusion.

"Maybe it's like Shikabane Hime and he actually is dead still, just walking around…" Walker suggested, making the dark haired girl grin.

Mikado was truly perfecting the art of the polite smile at this point; he had called the van crew for help in his plan, but they (or Erika and Walker, at least) refused to participate until Mikado explained what had happened in their absence. With an inaudible sigh, he tried to explain once more, "He didn't actually 'kill' me. He did substantial damage to my soul in the other realm in order to sever the tie the Midnight Man had to me, enough to shock it and send us back here. There was no harm done."

"So now we can kill it without whatever we do hurting you?" Saburou questioned.

"Exactly."

"Okay!" Erika exclaimed excitedly. "What do we have to do?"

Mikado was about to speak when everyone's attention shifted to Masaomi entering his friend's minuscule, crowded apartment. Mikado gave the blonde a small, genuine smile; he neglected to tell the other players of the blonde's momentary lapse in judgement. The blue eyed teen was relieved things were finally falling into place; only a couple more things to be done, then he, and they, would be rid of the Midnight Man forever.

Izaya & Mikado

Izaya pushed his chair back from his desk, letting it slowly spin around. He wondered how long it would take Mikado to actually execute a plan, assuming the kid was even able to work out a solution. He basically knew nothing, other than how Mikado had informed him he _had_ a plan, and Izaya knew the van gang and Masaomi had been at the teen's place earlier, but he'd otherwise been kept in the dark. The informant frowned absentmindedly at the thought; he didn't want to overestimate Mikado. The boy was smart, that was an inarguable fact, but if he continued to play this game as he had been, the kid would undoubtedly fail. Izaya sighed, hoping there really was a plan in the works; he would much rather underestimate the younger male and be surprised instead of disappointed. It annoyed him to put so much focus on one game piece.

The man grinned madly as he propelled the seat to spin faster; the effects of such would be nauseating to anyone else afterwards; having done it so often meant it didn't bother Izaya. It was comforting the way the room around him blurred and contorted from the speed. As abruptly as he began his antics, he planted his feet, stopping his spinning and facing his desk; a sharp, hollow crack echoed through the room. Izaya's expression had turned harsh and serious when his spinning had discontinued, and now cold, auburn eyes settled on the switch-blade he had driven into the wooden desk.

_Human_.

The concern he had for his game pieces, or rather, for one particular piece, was treading dangerously close to a line he was not comfortable with; that line was between his humans and the Godly position Izaya himself had assumed. He was a God; he was too far above useless emotions such as affection or even attachment. Ties to others were a hindrance, a dependence Izaya was too far above. Being alone in his apartment, he openly sneered at the knife still stuck in the splintered gape of the desk—anger was also a useless, distracting feeling—as he thought how much he hated his human emotions.

The lights overhead flickered and the menacing scowl was replaced with a vicious-looking smirk. "No need to waste time," Izaya taunted in his sing-song tone, eyes flicking around, waiting for the beast to show itself. The lights shut off completely, causing the informant to release a mirthful laugh. "You can skip the intimidation tactics. I'm not exactly scared of the dark."

"…Not even…what's…in the dark?"

It wasn't completely dark, at least not where Izaya was still calmly seated in front of the panoramic window. The city outside allowed a fraction of the neon lights to filter in, though it did little good as the fuzzy radiance cast long shadows over the far half of the large room. The informant wrenched the blade from the desk, smile still in place, posture tense, but not rigid. The wood splintered and split further, a series of small snaps and pops emerging from the site and resounding through the air.

It was cold—in fact, the temperature felt as though it was still dropping rapidly. Izaya exhaled and was able to see his breath; the latter part of the room was becoming darker and darker as thick shadows overtook the centre of the room. It was almost impossible to discern the movement of the Midnight Man from its swirling shadows and the over-all natural darkness of nightfall flooding the room. Izaya blinked, trying to get his eyes to adjust, though it seemed to be a fruitless effort.

There was an awkward creaking noise; it was continuous and now accompanied by a series of small, crisp pops. Izaya's wicked grin returned as he saw the disgusting, thick ink bubble up from where he had stabbed the knife into the desk. The informant leaned back in his chair, but refrained from pushing away from the forming monster just yet. Already he was able to see the trapped souls' faces forming as the shadows built up their mass.

"Hm, it looks as though you're a bit worse for wear after all the 'fun' from the other realm, ne?" the man taunted.

As if in response, the whispering of the tormented captives picked up in pitch. The Midnight Man's form grew and loomed from the desk, it leaned forward so it was close to the informant's face. "All…alone now…no…tricks…have…no one…to play as your pawn…Just you…and me…Izaya…"

Its voice flourished with a chilling affection; Izaya grinned, "You know, I really wish I could see some expressions on that disgusting, inhuman face of yours, other than those of the pitiful humans you have trying to claw their way out of that gossamer shell. It would be so interesting. Though I guess not being able to read you as well adds a bit of an edge, more fun, to our little game."

"…So warped…Soul is so…broken and dark…deformed…almost…inhuman yourself…No one could ever accept you as a God…"

Izaya's maniacal smirk lessened at the last comment. "You were never accepted as a God, you were just a monster to be summoned and used by humans to do their dirty work. Now, you aren't even _that_ much." He laughed loudly. "Now, you're just a game silly human children play to catch anything close to an adrenaline rush. It's pathetic!"

"…Why is...he such…a concern of yours…you're concerned…about Mikado…"

Izaya's laughter escalated into hysterics at both the implication and the brusque subject change; sharply, he stopped his antics and leaned forward slightly in his chair. In a low voice, he replied, "He's a pawn that's still useful to me."

All at once, things shifted.

The air grew almost palpably tense, the ocean of voices climaxed into a static roar of pained screams and pleas reverberating as some nonsensical mantra, the Midnight Man's body erupted into spasms in agitation of the calamity within. The contortioned limbs clawed and dug into the desk, further victimising the piece of furniture. At once, Izaya was shocked by the sudden change, even as he mused on some level about needing a new desk after this.

"WHAT…YOU…!" The broken speech was mangled by the cries of agony.

Izaya glanced behind the creature and saw Erika and Walker grinning madly with a less-than-pleased-looking Masaomi adjacent to them, containers of salt in each of their hands; the trio had thrown a substantial amount onto the surprised Midnight Man. The substance seemed to have served its purpose as the contacted areas appeared to be swiftly eroding. Filthy, midnight-coloured carnage was slowly taking the place of the creature itself, and Izaya had to blink in surprise again.

Mikado stood off to the side, watching the creature writhe. He was relieved he was correct in thinking the Midnight Man would be too weakened to sense them; it was just focused on Izaya's soul, as he'd known. The horrendous Taker almost looked like it was melting, though the boy knew it wasn't true; all the salt did was cause it pain, not actually harm it. His expression was utterly cold and austere as Mikado watched shadows creep along the floor in the weak lighting. The creeping shadows were of a different echelon than the slipshod ink demarcated by the Midnight Man. Mikado watched Celty's shadows as they crept across the floor, then leapt into the air and wrapped around the thrashing Taker.

It was nauseating; the Dullahan's shadows tightly encircled the bulging mass, so tightly Mikado was able to hear the snap of bones and the squelch of blood (or whatever the tar-like substance leaking from the thing was) being forced from the aerated wounds on the body. The viscid constituent fell in heavy splodges, appearing to have a saccharine, almost porcine thickness. Forcing his biliousness aside, Mikado quickly bolted to where Celty was now standing, between the trio and the Midnight Man.

The Taker was trying to force its body to shift and compress itself to slip between the ribbons of antagonistic dark silhouettes quashing its form. The sight was beguiling, but Mikado knew he didn't have much time. Celty reached out and offered the teen a jet black blade shaped from her shadows; after an admirably succinct transgression, the teen accepted it. The Dullahan brought forth more darkness to try and keep the Taker from squirming about to much, though it was obvious she wouldn't be able to hold it too terribly long with the fluidity of the Midnight Man's body.

Stepping within arm's reach of the creature wrapped in dense bands of shadow, Mikado drew in a breath; the air was pungent so close to something so vile. Promptly, the boy plunged the knife into the bulk of flesh before him; the blade was driven by complete coercion on the teen's part. Mikado tried to remain ignorant of the faces bulging and clawing through the skin, keeping his hand as steady as possible as he carved a straight line into the rotten epithelium.

An arm pushed through the skin, reaching for the blade, but the teen quickly withdrew it from the pouring wound, then slashed a perpendicular line across the previous one; a plus sign had formed. It was difficult to see the marks on such a dark 'canvas' of sorts, but the outside light gave the fluid congealing on the surface of the affliction a shiny quality. The teen stepped back as another limb lurched forth to grab him, and Mikado really wished he had Izaya's speed and skill with a blade. He clumsily sidestepped the appendage and carved an 'X' over the plus sign.

Mikado shivered as he felt a hand close around his ankle, but pushed forth ardently, hastily drawing a circle around the asterisk, then finishing off with the upside down triangle to enclose the mess. As he finished, the boy stumbled backwards, trying to kick off the firm grip on his leg. The extremity practically disintegrated as the Midnight Man released a guttural, aggrieved cry; the mark was taking full effect.

"…WHAT…DID YOU…DO…"

Moving further away from the creature, Mikado blinked at the liquefying blackness forming a disgusting, sticky patch on the floor. "That mark separates one's soul from the body; because you have so many souls in your body, it's literally ripping you apart," Mikado said as he kept his tone emotionless, though he still felt a sense of probationary success as he watched the powerful being diminish right before him.

Izaya's eyes widened in fascination as he watched the series of events; Mikado had accomplished things much faster than the informant had anticipated! Izaya was impressed, mostly by the fact that he had not been included in the boy's plan aside from the role of 'bait', and was even more impressed he hadn't gained an inkling of it before it was happening. In other words, Mikado had known the Taker would come after him after been severed from the boy, and in short order. It did nothing to dissuade his grandiloquent attitude, though; if anything, Izaya was delighted the boy had performed as he had hoped, or even better.

Mikado observed with dreadful satisfaction as the Midnight Man was quite literally ripped asunder; the thin skin appeared to start excoriating, being peeled back, starting with the site of the mark. As the veneer was shredded off, Mikado was able to see the faint grey glow of the conglomeration of spirits within. The fuzzy-looking entities reached forth, saturating the room with an eerie luminosity, glowing arms dragging themselves out of the struggling carcass with a mournful lustre.

Somehow, the souls' radiance overpowered the acidic necrosis still occurring to the monster's shell as it broke down further. It seemed the souls were the only bit of decaying mucilage holding the unnatural being together in the first place. After what seemed an eternity, though it had only been mere minutes, the last of the oozing blackness and minced flesh fragmented into nothing and disintegrated.

Blinking as the lights flickered back to life, Mikado had to let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding; aside from the mutilated desk, it appeared as though nothing had happened. He turned to see Celty's hand on his shoulder and her PDA raised for him to read.

[It worked, I don't sense it at all anymore. Are you okay?]

Mikado allowed a small smile to grace his lips. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Mikado & Izaya

After everything was said and done, Mikado thanked everyone for their help in his plan: Erika, Walker, and Masaomi for their salt distraction; Celty for keeping the monster still so he could cut it; Kadota for picking the lock, allowing them all to sneak into the informant's apartment when Celty sensed the Midnight Man; and Saburou for standing by with a means of escape via the van in case things went awry.

However, Mikado was disappointed in Izaya's lack of response as he left the informant's apartment. The man bid him goodbye rather quickly, which was disheartening.

The teen had just arrived back in Ikebukuro and was slowly ambling home; his only goal now was catching up on days of missed sleep. Amidst the noise of the night crowd, Mikado heard his ringtone; his brow furrowed when the number popped up as unknown.

"H-Hello?" he asked tentatively.

"Mikado, I'm glad I caught you before you made it home," said the cloying voice on the line. Mikado instinctively looked around for Izaya; he had to be nearby, otherwise how would he know Mikado had yet to make it home?

The familiar fur-trimed jacket caught the boy's eye and he hung up the phone before making his way across the street to where the other stood. "Why are you here?"

Ignoring the boy's question at first, the older male merely smiled, "You know the buses from Shinjuku are so slow. The subway is much faster."

Mikado regarded the other with a slightly wary anticipation. The fact that Izaya was there meant _something_, he was just unsure of exactly what. "So I've been told. Is there something you needed, seeing as how you came all the way to Ikebukuro, even though I just saw you?"

"Tch, what happened to all that wonderful tact of yours? No need to be so blunt—it makes me feel as though my presence is unwanted," Izaya replied with a pouting expression, though both males knew the abrasiveness didn't faze him. "I thought it would be nice to celebrate your plan's success with sushi, chat and what not."

Mikado felt his face warm up slightly as it tinged pink, "O-Oh, that would be nice." In all honesty, the teen found the notion more than nice; being able to spend time with Izaya when they weren't caught up in a supernatural life-threatening situation would be a first. As they began walking, a new thought crossed the Dollars' leader's mind. "I-Is this…um...a date?"

"That all depends on semantics and your perception," Izaya smirked as he turned around to face the teen, walking backwards. "If you want to call it such, you can. I don't mind."

"Your logic is frustrating at times," Mikado deadpanned, though he had perked up considerably from when he was dismissed at Izaya's apartment.

"Hmm, I can see how you could think that," Izaya replied as he faced forward once more, falling into step beside the younger boy.

"I meant to ask you about something," Mikado said, turning to the other with an almost mischievous grin on his innocent face. "In the Dollars forum, how did you manage to get yourself two user names, Kanra _and_ Nakura? Unless, perhaps, you were the one who sent out the majority of the invitations to the Dollars in the first place?"

Izaya turned sharply to meet the boy's eyes, his own expression one of evident shock. The older male quickly composed himself and smiled, "Well, I certainly wasn't expecting you to figure _that_ one out. Congratulations."

Izaya couldn't help laughing at the suddenness of Mikado's comment; _capricious_, the boy was just so changeable…it was intriguing. The nagging emotional sensation was tugging at him as well, though, putting a bit of a damper on his good mood. It was exciting to _use_ Mikado, though Izaya felt he was treading on thin ice being _involved_ with the boy—ulterior motives included, Mikado had proven himself to be a formidable opponent. And by discovering 'Nakura', he had, in fact, become a _dangerously_ formidable one.

"If it helps assuage your earlier worry, I'm going to call this a date," Izaya spoke again after his laughter died down.

Mikado felt his face burn bright red at the statement. "I-I'm glad…I am too," the boy smiled in spite of his self-consciousness.

He couldn't help glancing over at the other as a silence formed; just as he was about to say something, he noticed the informant had moved in front of him once more, but had stopped walking. Mikado's breath hitched as Izaya leaned forward a bit—so close. The teen was puzzled when the older male moved no further, as Mikado had thought the informant was going to kiss him; he then realized Izaya was waiting for the teen to meet him halfway, as though ensuring it was a mutual action. After the slightest hesitation, Mikado leaned forward and up to meet the other's lips.

The exchange wasn't deep, yet it was passionate. They pulled away after a reasonable amount of time, and the pair reflected as they continued their trek towards the sushi shop. Mikado had decided the risk of the relationship with Izaya was outweighed by the benefits, the benefits being that the teen was actually quite happy with the new dynamic and the promise it held for the Dollars due to the informant's deep underground connections. He wasn't a fool; eventually, the Dollars would have to take the step into real underground operations.

Izaya tried to interpret the kiss clinically, though he seemed to be having a more difficult time suppressing his human reactions to the situation. The informant smirked sinisterly, as there was really nothing he could do about it now that he had initiated this new game of sorts; _Zwischenzug._

***I'm not very familiar with anything about chat rooms- sorry for inaccurate terms in that bit.**

***Mikado didn't know that Izaya had another username he posted from other than Kanra. In the anime, the Nakura username was only mentioned in Izaya's plans with the suicides; in the light novels it is used more frequently. As said previously, I'm only basing this on the anime, therefore Mikado didn't know Izaya had been the one sending out the invitations to the Dollars after he stopped sending them out- I haven't made it very far in the light novels so I don't know if he ever figures it out- it's irrelevant to the story. It was fun to include- Credit for that idea goes to Snow Leopard Pasha.**

***Shikabane Hime: 'Corpse Princess' is a manga/ anime series by Yoshiichi Akahito.**

***I know that ending had such a cheese factor to it, but I really ignored the romance aspect of this throughout so I thought I would save some face with that last kiss, though their thoughts on the matter come off as bittersweet- that's how I would think their relationship would be.**

***** **Zwischenzug: A chess term, German meaning 'in between move.' An unexpected move tossed into an expected series of moves.**

**I am still unsure whether I will do an epilogue for this (let me know if you have an opinion on the matter)...I am just so dreadful at 'full-circle' endings, well, endings in general. Hope I didn't spoil this too badly with this chapter.**

**Now it is time for begging; PLEASE leave me a review (even if you read this long after its completion) - I really appreciate them and read every single one. Many thanks to you ALL, but especially the following: The Strongest Hero/Hero-chan, thanks so much for helping me with plot development, you're a life saver. Snow Leopard Pasha, thank you for your continued constructive suggestions and critiques, not to mention your vast knowledge of random/ obscure subject matter; you're brilliant! **

**Love,**

**¬PrettyWilde**


	13. Epilogue: Conversations & Conclusions

Conversations & Conclusions

Mikado perambulated through the subway terminal in Shinjuku, attempting to find the exit to the street above amongst the growing evening crowd. He wasn't a fan of the subway, though this proved to be the fastest route from Ikebukuro, so he was getting used to it, given how often he found his way there lately. Finally, the teen had navigated his way out of the terminal and out of the bustling, chic, business crowd on their way home from the office. With a sigh of relief, the boy began his walk to Izaya's office.

Since the incident with the Midnight Man almost a month ago, the time he and the man had been spending together had been steadily increasing, much to his joy, but there was also a downside—as there always seemed to be when the informant was concerned. Simply, the more time they spent together, the better Mikado had become at reading the eccentric man and his bizarre mannerisms. Recently, the young gang leader had been sensing a great deal of hesitation and apprehension—all well-masked and denied by Izaya, of course—in the man's dealings with him.

Mikado grimaced when he realized it was a week day and Namie would still be at the informant's, 'working'. He still had issues in dealing with Izaya's secretary, Yagiri Namie, especially since she had once tried to kill him; the feeling between them was mutual and created a strained atmosphere. Much to Izaya's amusement—in fact, the older male seemed to provoke the situation more often than not.

As Mikado neared the building, he was surprised to see Izaya standing outside, waiting for him, and the man greeted him with, "Mikado, you're here so quickly today. I was thinking we could go for a walk and then dinner, ne?"

Instinctively, the teen became suspicious of the spontaneous date and the older male's behaviour. He decided it was easier to address the subject directly, "So, is there any particular reason for your lurking around outside and inviting me on a surprise date?"

"Mikado, you wound me! Can't I just take you to dinner? It can't be _that_ suspicious an action," the man smirked, slinging an arm over Mikado's shoulders and leading him down the street.

To that, the teen had no immediate reply, but then he said in amusement, "You can, but it's out of character for you to do so without some kind of motive. Not to mention, you meticulously schedule most things." It was true; Izaya tended to plan a lot of their time together due to his spontaneous work schedule and odd hours.

After a silence and a bit of a surprised blink, the man cracked up laughing and answered, "Touché! So true. I believe it would be best to avoid Namie right now, though. She is so~ very angry with me at the moment, and your presence always seems to worsen her mood for some reason," Izaya giggled sarcastically. As he was waiting on the boy earlier, he could swear he heard Namie still yelling all the way up in his apartment.

"Eh? Why?" Mikado asked in surprise. It was no secret the woman fairly hated Izaya, but normally, their working relationship was decent, even if she got irritated with the man for his antics at times—no one could blame her for that, though.

"I was in the midst of a game and the table may have caught fire while I was playing," the man replied with a straight, almost contemplative face.

Part of Mikado wanted to laugh, but he'd seen Izaya light his chess board on fire once since they'd started unofficially going out. As a result, when the teen heard his date's reply, his response was to hold one hand to his suddenly aching head as he heaved a sigh of long suffering. Or rather, a sigh of short suffering which felt very long. When he heard Izaya laugh at his reaction, Mikado had to admit their relationship kept him jumping to the point of being harrowing, but at the same time, there was something oddly alluring about the whole situation. It worked. It worked so much more efficiently than he could have imagined that the boy was constantly on the alert for possible derailment.

It didn't take them long to get to Ikebukuro, and the teen had to ask, as he always did when they entered the city together, "Aren't you worried Shizuo will get angry and come after you when he figures out you're here?"

"I don't have a problem with that. If Shizu-chan really wants to waste his time, I'll let him; he's usually working at this hour, anyhow, so he would be missing part of his pay. Besides, it's fun to mess with that protozoan," Izaya smiled impishly.

"Speaking as someone who calls him an acquaintance, I can't exactly condone that attitude. I don't like seeing you two fight, you know."

The reply made Izaya snort, but before he could answer, a familiar voice quietly greeted the teen with, "Hello, Mikado." Turning, the two saw Anri standing a few feet away, gazing at them evenly as she apparently assessed something.

"Ah, hello, Sonohara!" Mikado fairly gasped, startled and nervous from seeing her there. Before the Midnight Man appeared, the nervousness would have come from him wanting a relationship with her, but now, he actually felt a bit like he was betraying her. Her stare did nothing to alleviate his guilt.

"I've seen you two together a lot lately," the girl commented, still fully calm.

"Um...Well..." Mikado began, already mentally floundering at the possible outcomes of such an awkward situation.

Only for Izaya to cut in with, "We're going out, and today's a date. Are we not supposed to spend time together if we're dating?" He was smirking wickedly at the young woman, almost daring her to argue. The man couldn't put aside his slight distaste for her; he loved her as a human, but knowing the demon sword was hidden inside of her body, Izaya felt a thrill of annoyance. Saika infringed on the territory he held with humans—it was in competition with his love, and the informant had meant it when he had declared 'war' on her in the midst of the gang chaos.

Again, Mikado held a hand to his head as he mumbled, "You're not helping, Izaya."

"Of course not. You would have taken over an hour to explain if I didn't step in," the man shot back with his trademark smirk. "Don't mind me, chat away!" He walked a polite distance ahead of the pair and took out his phone, frowning slightly at the message.

Groaning, the teen dreaded looking at Anri...until she asked, "Are you happy with this, Mikado?"

Blinking, he looked at her, and saw a very faint smile on her lips, so he said, honestly, "Well, y-yes, though I don't want to, um, complicate things between u-us."

"We're friends," she stated. "There's nothing complicated about that."

The words made Mikado's heart twist with a strange disappointment, even as he felt a weight lift off him, and one corner of his mouth turned up in an odd sort of strained, yet thankful smirk. The feeling was so mixed and strange to him, he had yet to reply. Something about this was so bittersweet; closure, he realized, was what he was feeling.

With a bit of a sigh, he smiled at her. "Thank you..._Anri_. I think we'll be able to be friends for a long time this way."

With a small smile, she replied, "Yes, I think so, too. Be careful with him, though." The girl hadn't revealed to Mikado just how intricately involved she knew Izaya to have been with the climax of the dispute between the Yellow Scarves and the Dollars back then, let alone the hit he'd taken out in Masaomi's name. Mikado was her friend, so it was only natural she was worried.

"I'm fine," he chuckled suddenly.

Anri nodded as she looked ahead to where the older man waited. "Enjoy your date." With that, she gave the boy a small bow and walked away.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it, Mikado?" Izaya asked with a smirk as the boy approached.

"Not for you, anyway," the teen answered, making a face at his date.

"It shouldn't have been for you, either. You had accepted the fact that you wouldn't be able to be with her before we were even together. It was something you had to do, otherwise you would merely be mourning the loss of the fantasy without actually moving on," the man shrugged, then leaned towards Mikado.

Instinctively, the younger of the pair mimicked the action and leaned upwards a bit, connecting their lips. The actions didn't seem nearly as awkward anymore and had even become somewhat natural after all the time they had spent in one another's company in the past month, regardless of who initiated the kiss. Meeting in the middle was symbolism for both equality and some degree of respect, so for Izaya to abide by it was rather amazing to Mikado, but he sure wasn't going to complain. Until he felt that hesitation, that almost pulling back Izaya did at times when they were together; the occurrence seemed to happen more when in public together.

It ended the kiss on a somewhat sour note as Mikado was the one to actually pull back. In his frustration, the boy asked in a slightly annoyed tone, "Why do you keep hesitating when you're dealing with me?"

With a blink, the man asked with what Mikado now knew was a false smirk, "Tsk, Mikado, if I didn't know you to be so astute, I might think you're implying I'm nervous."

For a moment, the teen paused, then answered in amusement, "I'm sure 'nervous' isn't a word anyone would even consider associating with you, Izaya. That isn't exactly what I meant though, the kind of feeling you give off when you hesitate—which you do. It's like…like you're trying to go forward and pull back at the same time, so you stall in the middle...which leaves me to wonder, what about our relationship doesn't work for you?" The teen was irritated at how melancholic his voice had sounded upon the last question, though it was disheartening to think Izaya didn't agree on how well they were working out.

Needless to say, Izaya was stunned speechless for a moment as he contemplated how to answer the teen, who had picked up on something so minimal and slight. It was all part of what made the boy so interesting, his habit of being so observant and of being so unpredictable! Still, at the moment, there was no telling how he would react to any reply the man gave, so it was better to err on the side of caution.

"It's nothing that concerns you, Mikado. Don't worry about it," he settled for answering, his expression amused.

"But it _is_ to do with me if it's an issue with our relationship. Which it is."

At the words, Izaya realized the teen really had caught on to something, and he wasn't about to let go of it any time soon. Step two: arrogance. "I believe we've touched on the issue before: I'm supposed to be above all my humans, as something to be worshipped—like a God. Gods don't exactly fraternize with those in their charge." Izaya was unsure how the answer would be received by the boy, but hopefully it would shift the subject. The informant was a bit taken aback when the teen started laughing! "...What?" the older brunette deadpanned, obviously not happy with the elicited reaction.

"_That's_ your problem?" the boy chuckled. "You think your God complex means you have no emotions? Well, most of the 'Gods' around the world had a significant other they both cherished and trusted, regardless of their status as a 'God' or a 'human'."

"Not the Gods of the monotheistic religions," Izaya practically pouted.

"But, you're not like one of them, since they never interact with humans directly, and you do, to quite a large extent, even if it's often through the use of technology," Mikado laughed again. "You're more similar to the deities talked about in the polytheistic religions, the deities who become directly involved with humans, which means by default it's acceptable for you to have a relationship." After laughing lightly again for a moment, he commented, "This must be the first time you've been the one slow on the draw, and didn't take something important into your calculations."

"...Very funny," the man replied, more than a little vexed.

Suddenly, a dark-coloured car pulled up next to them and a man called from the open window, "Orihara, we need to talk. Ditch the kid and get in."

"Who's that?" Mikado murmured to his date, especially concerned when he saw a cold look in the man's eyes. The situation already held a strong inauspiciousness.

Izaya hated being caught on the spot like this by his employer; he had attempted to dissuade a meeting with the group earlier when they messaged him. With a faltering bit of impulsiveness, Izaya caught Mikado's wrist and dragged him to the car, opened the back door, and climbed in, pulling the teen with him as said teen yelped. He then reached over the teen sprawled in his lap to pull the door closed, and said, "Shiki, you can speak freely in front of Mikado."

A long silence followed as a faintly blushing Mikado pushed himself up to sit properly in the seat beside Izaya, then the man called Shiki said, "My business is with you, not him."

"Well, he's going to be included, regardless of if he's informed of the situation now or later, as he will be helping me," Izaya answered smoothly, not wanting to outright refuse the man's request. This was something which needed to be done though; Mikado had to get a glimpse of the big picture he would now be involved in.

"Why does it feel like you're playing chess right now?" Mikado murmured, sighing. "With me as a pawn?"

Startled silence fell while the yakuza executive looked the boy over, then Shiki sighed and said, "If we're betrayed, you're going to die, Orihara."

"You won't be betrayed," Izaya retorted simply with an innocent smile.

"Fine. This is a direct request from the head of Awakusu-kai." Pausing there as Mikado's eyes widened, the man tossed a manilla folder into the back seat. "Have a look, then I'll explain more."

"Seriously, Izaya, you're dragging me into yakuza business now?" Mikado whispered harshly as Izaya opened the envelope.

"This is my life. You're involved now, too. Unless you have some sort of _hesitation_," the informant replied without looking up, making certain to put emphasis on the last word, then set three photographs down across his and Mikado's knees. "And here's where the chess game starts in full force." There, he leaned down to whisper in Mikado's ear, "And you're my Queen, not a mere pawn, Mikado."

As the teen flushed red and Shiki raised a brow as he watched them through the rear-view mirror, the two young men turned their full attention to the pictures.

"And we're aiming for a quick Checkmate," Izaya smirked.

***Snow Leopard Pasha basically wrote this entire epilogue, I just tweaked some of the character presentation and made a bit more my style. I loved what she wrote :)**

**Thank you so much for reading, please leave a review!**

***As hesitant as I am to even put the idea out there, I must ask, what do you readers think of the possibility of a sequel? It would be something that would not be up for a while, as I plan to get a good portion of it written before I begin uploading it to avoid the random hiatuses that occurred with this one. Obviously, Snow Leopard Pasha did the epilogue leaving it very open to a possible continuation, but it is very capable of providing an ending as well.**

**(I never remember to check the poll so I will just ask here and you may either message me your answer or leave it in a review. No time constraint on this, so even if you send me a message ages from now it will still be taken into consideration.) Would you want a sequel? **

**-No, no sequel**

**-Yes, sequel centring around real life problems**

**-Yes, sequel centring around supernatural elements (differing from anything in 10 seconds)**

**-Yes, combination of supernatural and real world issues**


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